Official Results Herald HH Victory

Official results from the Electoral Commission of Zambia strongly suggest that UPND Alliance candidate Hakainde Hichilema is set to win the presidential election, ousting the incumbent Edgar Lungu.

According to results from 15 constituencies announced by the ECZ this morning, Hichilema is leading with 171,604 votes compared to President Lungu’s 110,178. 

This strongly supports PVT findings by Open Zambia, which predict that HH will win by a margin of 58.1%, with President Lungu trailing on 39.2%. 

According to the ECZ, Democratic Party leader Harry Kalaba is currently in third position with 1,244 votes and People’s Alliance for Change candidate Andyford Banda is in a close fourth with 1,241.

The constituencies which were announced this morning included several seats in key battleground provinces, such as Nchanga in the Copperbelt and Chirundu and Rufunsa in Lusaka Province. 

The total number of votes cast in the constituencies was 296,210, with 8,214 of these rejected. This gives HH a winning margin of 57.93% 

Chief Electoral Officer Patrick Nishindano revealed that turnout in these constituencies had been extraordinarily high, with 71.75% of those registered turning out to vote. The next update from the ECZ will come at 11:00.

The electoral commission has been routinely criticised for its slow pace in calculating results, something it says is down to the unprecedented levels of turnout in this year’s elections. 

Nevertheless, the writing is on the wall for President Lungu, with several opposition candidates already conceding defeat and declaring victory for HH. 

Yesterday, Movement for Multi-party Democracy candidate Nevers Mumba stepped down from the race, stating that polling station data suggested the UPND was headed for a “very big win”.

“What we are seeing in Zambia today is a huge referendum against the Patriotic Front and their inability to lead the nation,” he said. 

Socialist Party candidate Fred M’membe similarly conceded yesterday and congratulated HH and the UPND on their “outstanding electoral performance”. He said the party’s resilience and perseverance was admirable, having attempted to get into government for almost 23 years. 

With victory for HH all but assured, the nation’s eyes now turn to President Lungu to see if he will concede before the final votes are counted.