Zambian president declares general elections ‘not free and fair’
Lungu, who was trailing his major rival Hakainde Hichilema in early electoral commission data, said his Patriotic Front party was consulting on its next line of action.
After incidences of violence in three regions, Zambian President Edgar Lungu called Thursday’s presidential and legislative elections “not free and fair,” he stated in a surprise statement delivered on Saturday.
Lungu, who was trailing his major rival Hakainde Hichilema in early electoral commission data, said his Patriotic Front party was consulting on its next line of action.
“President Lungu claims that the general election in three provinces, namely Southern, North Western, and Western, was marred by violence, calling the entire process a sham,” according to a statement from his office.
He said that Patriotic Front polling agents were beaten up and chased out of voting stations, resulting in a situation in which the ruling party’s votes were “unprotected” in those three regions.
Lungu stated the general election was “not free and fair” because of the shooting of a party chairman during voting in North Western region and the death of another individual.
When the deaths happened, Lungu called in army reinforcements to help settle the rioting.
Lungu, 64, has been the president of Zambia since 2015. Hichilema, often known as “HH,” is a businessman who has criticized President Obama’s handling of the country’s economy.
Investors are keeping a tight eye on the election results, which were announced on Thursday. The southern African country is heavily indebted, and in November it experienced the continent’s first sovereign default since the epidemic.
Support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was already widely agreed upon, has been put on hold until after the vote.
Hichilema received 449,699 votes in 31 of the country’s 156 constituencies, compared to 266,202 for Lungu, who is seeking a second five-year term.
Some constituencies are thought to be Lungu strongholds, implying that Hichilema has gained ground since the 2016 elections, when he lost by a razor-thin margin in a rigged election.
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.
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 reported 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, claimed 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 overruled a government regulator’s order to restrict social media services like as WhatsApp, Facebook (FB.O), and Instagram, following a lawsuit filed by the Chapter One Foundation, a local human rights organization.
The Foundation’s executive director, Linda Kasonde, said it was uncertain 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 imposed the block on Thursday, the day of the election, according to a court judgement seen by Reuters.
It was unclear whether the national regulator had executed the order, said to Richard Mulonga, chief executive of Bloggers of Zambia, an independent organisation, adding that services may take “a week or perhaps months” to stabilize.
Lungu has cast doubt on the election results in three provinces, accusing the opposition of inciting unrest on Thursday, which resulted in the death of a ruling party official.
On Thursday, he ordered the army to send reinforcements to the regions. Observers from Europe and Africa, on the other hand, stated the vote was mainly calm.
