Overview
- The Electoral Commission announced on Tuesday that President Hakainde Hichilema won a second term with roughly 60 percent of valid votes, a result that avoids a run-off and follows partial tallies reported over the weekend.
- Vote counting was halted for about six hours after reports of attacks on polling staff and alleged theft of marked ballots, a pause observers warned risked the credibility of the count and voter confidence.
- Zambian authorities say they arrested 11 people in a night-time raid linked to an alleged militia plot and seized weapons, claims that leading opposition figures and their party have strongly denied.
- International observer missions, including the EU, reported the campaign was skewed toward the incumbent because of heavy bias in state media and restrictions on opposition activity, prompting calls for independent scrutiny of irregularities.
- The vote was widely framed as a test of Hichilema’s economic record: he secured debt relief and growth since 2021 but many voters still face high living costs, a dynamic that matters to foreign investors tracking Zambia’s copper sector and to ordinary households struggling with poverty.