HH Casts His Vote

UPND Alliance presidential candidate Hakainde Hichilema has cast his vote in today’s general elections, alongside his wife Mutinta.

The opposition leader travelled to Kabulonga Boys Secondary School in Lusaka to mark his ballot. A livestream from the UPND showed huge crowds cheering on HH with shouts of “Bally!”

President Lungu already cast his vote this morning at Crawford School in the capital, along with First Lady Esther Lungu.

The latest electoral analysis shows a surge in support for the UPND, with the opposition party expected to make gains in Patriotic Front strongholds, including Eastern Province. Africa Confidential reported on Wednesday that political analysts believe “it is likelier that Hichilema will make inroads into PF areas than the other way around.” 

HH has been pulling large crowds throughout the final weeks of the campaign, particularly in the swing provinces of Lusaka and Copperbelt. This is despite repeated attempts by the police to block the opposition leader’s movements. Observers believe the UPND are already in the lead in Southern, Western, Central and North Western Provinces. 

However, there are still serious obstacles to a UPND victory, not least concerns over turnout and electoral fraud. The recent introduction of biometric voter verification in key urban constituencies carries the risk of deterring voters and confusing election agents who have not been properly trained.

While casting his ballot, HH raised concerns over the long wait times, saying that thousands of Zambians were still waiting in line to cast their votes. 

Other tactics such as ballot stuffing, power cuts and internet blackouts could also facilitate a PF win and block proper monitoring exercises. 

Readers are therefore encouraged to get out and vote in plenty of time and to report any suspicious activity via WhatsApp to +27 84 054 8704. 

Follow our incident tracking page to keep up with the latest reports of electoral fraud and violence: https://www.openzambia.com/incident-tracker