Zambia's Hichilema wins second term as president amid vote violence and opposition rejection
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema secured a second five-year term on Tuesday after winning roughly 60 percent of the vote in last week’s election, the electoral commission announced. His main challenger, opposition leader Brian Mundubile, received about 38 percent, according to official results .
The vote count was briefly suspended after reports of violence against election officials and the theft of ballot papers, the commission said. Authorities also arrested 11 people, including opposition figures, in a raid involving gunfire the night of the Aug. 13 election. The government claimed those detained were linked to militia activity, while Mundubile’s party denied the allegations .
Election observers, including the Southern African Development Community and the European Union, reported intimidation, violence, and irregularities in five provinces. The SADC mission criticized the suspension of vote-counting, saying it had caused “uncertainty and concern” .
Hichilema, 64, campaigned on his record of economic recovery, including a major debt restructuring deal and restored relations with international lenders. Critics, however, accused his government of failing to reduce poverty and suppressing dissent .
After the results were announced, Hichilema issued a statement thanking voters and pledging to work for all Zambians, including those who supported his opponents. Hundreds of his supporters celebrated in the capital, Lusaka, wearing the red colors of his United Party for National Development .
Mundubile had declared himself the winner before the official results were released. His National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity rejected the government’s account of the raid, stating it occurred at Mundubile’s home and left a member of parliament wounded .
Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, has held largely peaceful elections since returning to multiparty democracy in 1991. The electoral commission chairperson, Mwangala Zaloumis, declared Hichilema president-elect in the early hours of Tuesday .
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