Zambia’s electoral commission has issued a decision to temporarily suspend the counting of votes in the presidential, parliamentary, and local elections held on Thursday. The reason for this measure is an alleged attack on personnel at polling stations, which has resulted in violence leading to the theft of marked ballot papers from ballot boxes. The suspension is effective across the country immediately upon taking effect.
The counting began immediately after the closing of polling stations on Thursday, but the official results were not published at the time the suspension was imposed. The electoral commission stated that it has a legal deadline until the end of the week to publish the final election outcomes. On Friday, it was announced that the body would review its suspension decision within 24 hours.
The incumbent president, Hakainde Hichilema, is contesting for a second five-year term. He is facing 13 candidates in total, including the main opposition challenger, Brian Mundell. The situation surrounding the vote count has raised serious concerns within the opposition, which believes that the delay in publishing results creates an opportunity for potential manipulation.
Brian Mundell expressed deep concern over the delay in publishing the presidential results. The opposition candidate stated that there are deeply concerning reports from several areas, including allegations of military involvement in the vote count process and the movement of ballot boxes. These incidents have further eroded trust in the transparency of the process.
Mundell has called for the immediate publication of results by individual polling stations to ensure visibility of the process. He has also called for the protection of the chain of custody and for urgent inquiries into all reported incidents. The opposition insists that every step in addressing these concerns be taken as soon as possible to prevent further irregularities.
