PF Casts Doubt On Results, Raises Concerns Of Election Steal

The Patriotic Front has cast doubts on the election results in Southern, North Western and Western provinces, raising concerns of a possible attempt to invalidate the election and claim an illegitimate victory. 

In a statement to the media, PF Secretary General Davies Mwila claimed that the party’s election monitors had been chased out of the provinces - a statement which has not yet been proven. He said his party had since written a letter of complaint to the Electoral Commission of Zambia, alleging a lack of credibility around elections in these provinces.

Mwila also said the PF’s own parallel vote tabulation showed a “clear lead” for President Lungu across several provinces - something which is directly refuted by Open Zambia’s own independent PVT exercise. He said the party was therefore “confident of carrying the day”.

The statement has raised alarm from election observers, who worry that the claims around monitors being driven from the south and west of the country will be used to invalidate yesterday’s largely peaceful polls. 

Professor Nic Cheeseman of the University of Birmingham accused President Lungu of following the “Trump strategy” by claiming that the elections were unfair and should therefore be cancelled. 

He also said there were credible reports that the government is bringing a court case to prevent the ECZ from releasing the results of the election, suggesting the PF will do “whatever it takes to hold on to power”.