Opposition Challenges Zambia Vote Process
Opposition leaders in Zambia have intensified claims that the general election has been compromised by intimidation, violence and state influence, even as partial results show incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema holding a substantial early lead that could deliver him an outright first-round victory.
With tallies released from 135 of the country’s 226 constituencies, Hichilema of the ruling United Party for National Development stood on nearly 59 percent of the declared vote, according to the Electoral Commission of Zambia. His main challenger, Brian Mundubile of the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity, trailed with roughly 40 percent on a two-candidate basis. A candidate needs more than half the valid votes to avoid a run-off, and the commission has indicated final results are expected within days.
Mundubile’s party has centred its complaints on what it describes as a grave escalation. In a statement, the NRPUP alleged that armed personnel it believes to be members of the Zambian army entered the candidate’s Lusaka home on Friday night, fired live ammunition, wounded a member of parliament and forcibly removed several people whose whereabouts remain unconfirmed.
Mundubile said no political language could sanitise the incident and appealed to supporters not to retaliate, while calling for urgent regional and international engagement to establish the facts. At the time of the latest results announcement, Zambian authorities had not issued a detailed public response specifically addressing the claim.
The allegation comes after vote counting was suspended for about six hours on Friday following reports of violence against polling staff and the alleged theft of marked ballot papers. The European Union election observation mission described the pause as disproportionate, noting that only a small number of the more than 13,000 polling stations were affected. A 57-year-old polling agent was killed near Lusaka on election day, and police later arrested nine suspects.
International and regional observers have recorded a series of concerns that align with opposition complaints of an uneven process. The EU mission’s preliminary findings characterised the election as competitive but skewed towards the incumbent, citing heavy bias in state-owned media coverage and a blurring of the lines between government business and campaigning.
Observers from the Southern African Development Community and other groups reported, though could not independently verify, accounts of intimidation, assault, abduction and damage to property across several provinces. The EU mission said it had been informed that opposition parties faced pressure from security forces, that some candidates withdrew under duress, and that opposition rallies were disrupted by violence. One EU observer team reported witnessing a person being seized by armed personnel in the days before the vote.
