On Saturday, Zambian President Edgar Lungu has declared that the Thursday’s presidential and parliamentary election “not free and fair” after the incidents of violence in three provinces. He also stated that the Patriotic Front party was consulting on its next course of action.
Results from 31 of the country’s 156 constituencies from Thursday’s vote put business Hakainde Hichilema, who has criticised the president’s management of an economy in turmoil ahead of Lungu, who is running for a second five-year term. Some of the constituencies include those which was perceived as Lungu stronghold hence suggesting Hichilema has gained ground since the last elections in 2016, when he lost by a slim margin in a vote marred by allegations of rigging.
The European Union’s election observer mission released a preliminary report in the capital Lusaka, describing the process as technically well-managed but “marred by unequal campaign conditions, restrictions on freedoms of assembly and movement, and abuse of incumbency.”
