Zambian president declares general elections ‘not free and fair’

Lungu, who was trailing his main contender Hakainde Hichilema in early results from the electoral commission, said the Patriotic Front party that he leads was consulting on its next course of action.

“President Lungu says the general election in three provinces, namely, Southern province, North Western province, and Western Province, were characterised by violence, declaring the whole exercise a nullity,” the statement from his office read.

He alleged Patriotic Front polling agents were brutalised and chased from voting locations, a “situation that left the ruling party’s votes unprotected” in those three regions.

Citing the shooting of a party chairman in North Western province during voting and the murder of another man, Lungu said these criminal activities rendered the general election “not free and fair”.

Lungu ordered in army forces to assist control rioting when the deaths happened.

Lungu, 64, has been in power since 2015. Hichilema – known as “HH” – is a businessman who has attacked the president’s administration of an economy in disarray.

Investors are closely following the outcome of the election, which was place on Thursday. The southern African country is deeply indebted and suffered the continent’s first pandemic-era sovereign default in November.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) help, previously generally accepted, is on hold until after the referendum.

Results from 31 of the country’s 156 seats delivered Hichilema 449,699 votes vs the 266,202 obtained by Lungu, who is vying for a second five-year term.

Some constituencies include regarded Lungu strongholds, showing Hichilema has gained ground since the last elections in 2016, when he lost by a close margin in elections plagued by claims of cheating.

The first findings were supposed to come out on Friday. They were postponed after overnight counting because to high turnout and because political parties objected to the electoral commission’s initial figures in one seat, which differed from those of on-the-ground monitors.

In Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, an estimated 7 million people registered to vote in presidential and legislative elections.

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RESTRICTIONS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The Zambian Electoral Commission permitted the last polling station to stay open until 5 a.m. on Friday to allow individuals who had waited in line for hours to vote. In three regions, there was also violence during the election, as well as internet access restrictions. find out more

Residents said supporters of both Lungu and Hichilema claimed victory and celebrated throughout the night in Chawama township in Lusaka, Lungu’s parliamentary constituency before he became president.

The Patriotic Front, Lungu’s ruling party, said its vote tally showed a large turnout in its strongholds and that it was confident of victory.

Hichilema is a member of the United Party for National Development (UPND) and is running for President.

A high court on Friday overturned a government regulator’s decision to block social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook (FB.O), and Instagram, following a complaint filed by the Chapter One Foundation, a local human rights organization.

The Foundation’s executive director, Linda Kasonde, said it was unclear how long the social media internet blackout would last. On Saturday, some users reported that their online services had been restored.

“It did move up,” says the narrator. WhatsApp was down for some users, but they were still able to access Facebook and Twitter,” she said.

The Zambia Information Communication Technology Authority ordered the block on Thursday, the day of the election, according to a court ruling seen by Reuters.

It was unclear whether the national regulator had implemented the order, according to Richard Mulonga, chief executive of Bloggers of Zambia, an independent group, and that services could take “a week or even months” to stabilize.

Lungu has cast doubt on the election results in three provinces, accusing the opposition of inciting violence on Thursday, which resulted in the death of a ruling party official.

On Thursday, he ordered the army to send reinforcements to the provinces. Observers from Europe and Africa, on the other hand, said the vote was largely peaceful.