Sawt Falasteen - Zambia resumes vote count after pause over violence

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) halted the count around noon, a day after presidential and parliamentary elections and hours after opposition leader Brian Mundubile claimed victory.

"I am pleased to inform the nation that the security threat to the electoral process has been contained and that the necessary measures have been put in place to enable the process to continue," ECZ chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis said.

The first batch of results would be announced at 10:00 pm local time (2000 GMT), she said.

The copper-rich southern African country has a long record of transferring power through the ballot box, with every change of president since the return to multiparty politics in 1991 achieved through elections.

But opposition parties and civil society groups had warned of a tightening political environment, citing curbs on campaigning, allegations the government denied.

The country went to the polls on Thursday in an election focused on economic hardship.

President Hakainde Hichilema, in power since 2021, faced 13 challengers, with Mundubile, a 55-year-old former minister in the previous Patriotic Front (PF) government, emerging as his main rival.

Mundubile on Friday claimed a first-round victory in the presidential election and said his party had also secured a parliamentary majority.

"We have serious grounds for concern that the widespread intimidation surrounding this election is being orchestrated and exploited by elements associated with the state, in a manner to interfere with the democratic will of the Zambian people," he said after the count was suspended.

It is unclear whether the suspension will delay the announcement of official presidential results which were expected on Monday.

Hichilema on Friday said his team was receiving "encouraging results".

Posting on social media, he urged citizens to "remain peaceful, patient and patriotic as we await the official outcome from those entrusted with managing the vote".

- Concerns over rights -

Hichilema, a 64-year-old tycoon who won the presidency on his sixth attempt, was betting on job creation and an ambitious infrastructure drive to secure a final five-year term.

Backed by an alliance of opposition movements, Mundubile was running under the newly formed NRPUP party.

He entered the race in May, injecting uncertainty into a contest that had long appeared to be Hichilema's to lose.

Some 8.7 million people were registered to vote. They were also electing 226 seats in parliament.

The country has come under scrutiny over concerns that Hichilema's government has narrowed the space for dissent even as it promises stronger economic recovery.

Transparency International Zambia said on Friday it had recorded more than 150 incidents of violence during the campaign and election process.

The Christian Churches Monitoring Group said it was "ready to independently assess the accuracy of the official results".

"These estimates will allow voters and political contestants to determine for themselves whether announced results reflect the ballots cast at polling stations on election day," it said in a statement.

- Arrests -

On the eve of the election, Zambia's Human Rights Commission said it was "actively monitoring arrests and detentions involving political candidates, supporters, journalists and other actors".

Earlier, the interior ministry said security agencies had arrested several suspects accused of plotting to interfere with the electoral system.

The ministry did not say how many people were arrested but said they included three former senior government officials accused of "providing technical services aimed at disrupting the electoral system".

Despite also having significant potential in cobalt, nickel and manganese, the country continues to struggle with persistent poverty, unemployment and rising food prices.

More than 70 percent of its population of 22 million lives on fewer than three US dollars a day, according to the World Bank.

The previous government of late former president Edgar Lungu left Zambia in sovereign default after years of heavy borrowing.

Hichilema's administration has since secured a landmark debt restructuring deal, restored an International Monetary Fund programme and returned the economy to a growth path, winning praise from international lenders and investors.

D.AbuRida--SF-PST