Zambian President Hichilema maintains lead in reelection bid

Matthew Hill and Taonga Mitimingi, Bloomberg News on Aug 16, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Zambia’s president maintained his lead among voters with nearly half of electoral constituencies counted, moving closer to extending his rule over the copper-rich southern African nation for a second term.

Hakainde Hichilema won 1,056,812 votes in 105 of the country’s 226 constituencies announced by the Electoral Commission of Zambia on Sunday. His closest rival, opposition leader Brian Mundubile, garnered 830,841, it said. Voter turnout was 55.5%, well below the roughly 70% in the last general election.

Since coming to power five years ago, Hichilema has shepherded a debt-restructuring plan that’s been lauded by investors, overseen record copper output in Africa’s second-biggest producer of the metal, and turned the kwacha into the continent’s best-performing currency this year. He has pledged to continue implementing pro-business reforms if reelected.

Mundubile — an accountant and former lead opposition lawmaker — has made the slow trickle-down of Zambia’s macroeconomic recovery under Hichilema a central part of his campaign, with promises to reduce the high cost of living.

The winner of Thursday’s presidential vote needs to secure more than 50% of the valid ballots cast.

Hichilema had been widely expected to win a second term, though Mundubile gained momentum in the closing stages of the race by tapping public anxiety over household budgets.

Citing reports of violence, Zambia’s electoral commission suspended vote counting for a few hours on Friday before declaring the situation contained.

Zambia, in contrast with neighboring Zimbabwe or Mozambique, has no history of widespread electoral unrest. In a social media post less than an hour before the electoral commission’s suspended the count, Hichilema lauded “reports of peace, unity and solidarity across our country.”

Still, the elections took place against the backdrop of a constrained democratic space, the European Union Election Observation Mission said Saturday in a preliminary report.

It cited restrictions on the ability to campaign, and incumbency advantages that blurred the line between state and political campaigning creating an uneven playing field.

Mundubile separately warned that delays in publishing tallies suggested the election results may be rigged.

_____