Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema has been declared the winner of Zambia’s Presidential election, defeating incumbent Edgar Lungu.

Zambians went to the polls on August 12, 2021, after a tense campaign dominated by economic woes, debt crisis and the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

However, official results on Monday, August 16, 2021, show Hichilema led by a huge margin of over a million votes. Mr Hichilema secured over 2.8 million votes against President Lungu’s 1.8 million votes. The official results page of the electoral Commission reported that the just ended election recorded a 70.95% voter turnout.

Esau Chulu, the Zambia Electoral Commission announcing the results stated that Hichilema received, 2,810,757 votes representing 58 percent, while incumbent Edgar Lungu polled 1,814,201 votes.

“I therefore, declare Hichilema President-elect of Zambia,” announces the Electoral Commission Chairman, at the results centre in the capital Lusaka.

The announcement sparked fears that President Lungu will not recognise the results. This prompted the African Union’s election observer mission, led by former President Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone to hold a press conference to call for peace and calm.

“The Mission urges all political leaders and their supporters to not undertake any action that will undermine the peace and stability of the country.”

Big win for Opposition Leader Hichilema

Hichilema, a businessman cum a politician, contested for the top office in the country for five times but was lucky this time around. His party, United Party for National Development (UPND) supporters celebrated the victory openly after years of unsuccessful attempt.

Meanwhile, this is the third time power has changed hands peacefully since Zambia’s independence from Britain in 1964.

President Lungu Refuses to Concede Defeat

However, President Lungu has not conceded defeat, but made an early post-vote statements from his Patriotic Front (PF) party informing his supporters that he was cruising for victory. He also noted that the election was fraught with irregularities and not free and fair.

He maintained there were incidents of violence in three provinces, and that PF representatives were kept out of polling stations.

Nonetheless, UPND officials in a counter statement dismissed and jibed President Lungu, saying his statement on the election “was from those trying to throw out the entire election just to cling on to their jobs.”

Though, the election was generally free and fair, opposition parties, especially Hichilema’s UPND, were often arrested, prevented from campaigning, and were unable to hold rallies under the excuse of Covid-19 restrictions.

Moreover, in a statement, election observers, particularly the European Union described the running of the polls as “a technically well-managed electoral process marred by unequal campaign conditions, restrictions on freedoms of assembly and movement, and abuse of incumbency.”

However, Lungu has indicated that he may challenge the results. But polictical analysts suggested that the one million vote difference between him and Hichilema will make the dispute difficult to pursue.

Meanwhile, Lungu has up to seven days from today, Monday, August 16, to lodge a complaint with the Constitutional Court of Zambia.

Though President-elect, Hichilema, may be in jubilant mood, he must not lose sight of the fact that Zambia is in economic mess as the country is the first country to default on their sovereign fund loan in November after falling behind in payments. He thus, must justify the confidence reposed in him by majority of Zambia voters by turning the economic situation around.

However, Zambia is the world’s second-largest copper producer, and copper prices have risen slightly, which is one of the few positives in Zambia’s current economy.