HH Poised For First Round Victory - UPND

The United Party for National Development has issued a statement claiming its candidate, Hakainde Hichilema, is poised to win the presidency in the first round of voting.

It comes as independent PVT estimates give HH a comfortable lead in the national polls, beating incumbent President Edgar Lungu at 59% to 38.3% .

The statement is as follows:

LUSAKA - Today is an exciting day for Zambia. The people have rejected poor leadership that serves its own interests before those of the people. Instead, Zambians have voted in huge numbers for change.

Thanks to the determination of the people and their willingness to queue for long hours to cast their vote we are now confident that our presidential candidate Hakainde Hichilema is poised for a first round victory and will shortly be headed to State House.

As the UPND Alliance awaits the official declaration of the election results we want to reassure voters that we have the information and the evidence we need to support our claims.

Our Parallel Voter Tabulation PVT efforts confirm that citizens have voted wisely. They have voted for a leader with a vision and a plan. A leader who understands the economy and how to do business. A leader who has built a strong team of men and women from across the country who are ready to work hard and serve the Zambia diligently.

We owe the people of Zambia a great debt for putting their trust in us today. We will not let them down. We also owe a great debt to our party agents who have had to jump over obstacle after obstacle to protect the vote.

With the ECZ expected to release more announcements imminently I encourage Zambians to remain patient, calm and peaceful. The time for change has arrived.

Zambia Forward!

CHARLES MILUPI
*UPND ALLIANCE CHAIRMAN*