Hichilema Re-elected with 60%
Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema has secured a second five-year term, winning 60% of the vote according to official results announced by the electoral commission. His closest challenger, Brian Mundubile, received 38%, with the remaining 12 candidates trailing far behind.
In a statement after being declared the winner, Hichilema, 64, said: "We are truly humbled by the trust you have placed in our hands." He described the election as showing Zambia was "a democratic nation that settles our differences at the ballot box, and nowhere else," and pledged to work for those who preferred his opponents. Hundreds of his supporters, dressed in the red colours of the United Party for National Development (UPND), flooded the streets of the capital, Lusaka, to celebrate.
Mundubile had earlier claimed victory and alleged voting irregularities without providing evidence, as reported by the BBC. He has since said he will challenge the outcome in court, alleging the tallying process had been tampered with.
Killing of Former Minister Overshadows Poll
The election aftermath was overshadowed by the death of Mutotwe Kafwaya, a former minister, who was killed in a security raid on a house linked to Mundubile a day after the presidential election. A police spokesman said Kafwaya, 49, was fatally wounded by law enforcement officers during what officials described as an exchange of fire in a security operation in Lusaka on Friday.
Eleven people were arrested in the raid, with the authorities accusing Mundubile's party, the NRPUP, of being "involved in insurgency" and "militia activity" and storing "high-grade" weapons. Mundubile, who has gone into hiding, rejected the allegations as "total fabrications."
Speaking about Kafwaya on Tuesday, Mundubile said he had no information about his whereabouts after he was shot during the raid, which he said took place at his house. He later described the raid, saying armed personnel knocked down his gate with an armoured vehicle, broke doors and windows, and opened fire. He denied storing weapons or having a militia, telling the BBC: "So they came in to kill us."
Mulambo Haimbe, Hichilema's election agent, said Mundubile's remarks were "not correct" and that criminal charges were being put forward against those arrested.
The police confirmed Kafwaya's death late on Wednesday amid growing demands for information. They stated he was killed in a shootout during the raid by a joint security task force, saying they encountered "gunfire and resistance from unknown individuals, resulting in [them] returning fire." "In the process one unidentified male person was fatally wounded, and the firearm was recovered," the police said, adding that family members had subsequently identified him.
Kafwaya's Political Career
Kafwaya first became a lawmaker in 2016 and was appointed by then-President Edgar Lungu as minister for works in 2018, moving to the transport ministry the following year. He served until 2021, when Lungu lost to Hichilema in the presidential election, and continued serving as an opposition member of parliament.
Observer Concerns
Regional and international observers described election day as largely peaceful but raised concerns about late electoral reforms, media freedom and access. The EU observation mission warned that restrictions on the opposition may have contributed to an "uneven contest."
In a report, the EU mission said the results tabulation process deteriorated significantly after a six-hour pause, with staff in many centres not recording results on tally sheets as soon as they were announced, and weak verification between digital entries and paper records. It described a heavy military presence as intimidating and said it had received reports of attacks on some tallying centres. The mission called for "maximal transparency" over the poll outcome, noting that the electoral commission did not publish separate polling-station results.
The electoral commission had briefly suspended counting and the announcement of results a day after polling, citing reports of violence and theft of ballot papers, but lifted the suspension the same day.
Samuel Tembenu of the Sadc observer mission said they had "recorded, but could not verify, reports of intimidation, assault, abduction and damage to property in five provinces," according to AFP.
Legal and Human Rights Reactions
Zambia's Human Rights Commission called for accountability over people whose whereabouts remain unknown following arrests and security operations around the elections. The commission urged that individuals be brought before a court or released if held beyond the legal period, and called for independent investigations into unlawful detentions or disappearances.
Mundubile alleged discrepancies between polling-station results and those officially announced, and claimed military involvement at tallying centres. It remains unclear whether the opposition will formally challenge the result.