Zambia’s president leads in election results amid complaints

The commission said in a statement late Friday that verification of the results were taking longer than they had anticipated and that the commission was working as fast as it possibly could.

“We have evidence to the effect that votes for Hakainde Hichilema have been deliberately reduced in collusion with the Electoral Commission of Zambia, ” he said. As of yet, no explanation for the delays has been given and no new time frame has been given.

Emanuel Phiri, 48, a taxi driver, said he believed Lungu was the popular choice of the Zambian people. “I know we are all anxious but we must be patient and wait for the ECZ to make its first official announcement”, she added.

Zambian President Edgar Lungu maintained a slim lead over his main rival on Sunday with almost half of votes counted as the opposition called for greater urgency in releasing results amid concerns about rigging. Lungu, who took office in January 2015 after the death of President Michael Sata, won a tight election over Hichilema previous year.

About 6.7 million registered voters voted in the general elections held on August 11.

Meanwhile, Zambia’s electoral body and global observers expressed satisfaction with a peaceful voting process amid high voter turnout.

Initial reports that there was a large turnout when polls opened on Thursday.

Zambia’s election Thursday followed a tense campaign marred by street clashes, though the voting day was mostly peaceful. This means that a run-off vote between Lungu and Hichilema is possible should neither candidate secure a majority in this round.

Zambia’s electorate had also cast ballots in parliamentary and municipal elections as well as in a constitutional referendum.

Lungu will rule for a second five-year term.

Observer teams from the African Union, Southern African Development Community and Electoral Institute for Southern Africa said they were satisfied with the vote and there were only isolated incidents of violence.

With emotions running high as parties await the election results, the ECZ would need to clearly demonstrate it was acting to resolve complaints to retain the confidence of the electorate, political analyst Lee Habasonda of the University of Zambia said.