Zambia has voted, and the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has declared incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema the winner of the August 13, 2026, presidential election.

Running on the ticket of the United Party for National Development (UPND), Hichilema secured 2,965,326 votes, 60.49% of the 4,902,050 valid votes cast. His main challenger, Brian Mundubile of the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP), received 1,856,217 votes, or 37.87%.

The result gives Hichilema a second five-year term. But the victory comes in a deeply contested political environment, marked by allegations of intimidation, arrests of opposition figures, political violence, disputes over electoral materials, a temporary suspension of vote counting, and growing questions about the transparency of the results-management process.

Concerns grew when on August 19, reports emerged stating that former Zambian minister Mutotwe Kafwaya had been killed during a raid on Mundubile’s house. Socialist Party leader Fred M’membe described the killing as “very frightening” and “very saddening,” extending condolences to Kafwaya’s widow, children, family and friends.

M’membe linked the incident to what he described as growing political divisions and intolerance in Zambia, warning that neither electoral disputes, political doctrine nor law enforcement could justify the physical elimination of citizens. “No crime can be committed in the name of elections or law enforcement,” he said, while paying tribute to Kafwaya’s memory and condemning the violence surrounding the country’s increasingly tense political environment.

Read more:What’s behind Hichilema’s constitutional reforms in Zambia?

Hichilema won decisively at the ballot box. Yet, the process has left large sections of the opposition questioning whether Zambia’s democratic institutions are still operating with the independence and credibility required.

The major issues in the campaign ranged from unemployment and the rising cost of living, all while an unstable electricity supply continues to strain households and businesses.

Fourteen presidential candidates

Fourteen candidates contested the presidency. Alongside Hichilema and Mundubile, the field included Socialist Party leader Fred M’membe, Citizens First leader Harry Kalaba, Kelvin Fube Bwalya, Brian Mushimba, Given Katuta, and several others.

Mundubile emerged as the principal challenger through an opposition alliance, campaigning on ending the prolonged load shedding that has crippled businesses and disrupted livelihoods, and on economic stabilization more broadly.

A campaign marked by controversy

The controversies did not begin on polling day. For much of the year, opposition parties complained of restrictions on political activity, arrests, and what they described as the use of state institutions to disadvantage political opponents.

Among the most prominent cases was the arrest of Socialist Party president Fred M’membe on March 2, 2026. M’membe was charged under Section 22(2)(a) and (b) of Zambia’s Cyber Crimes Act No. 4 of 2025, over remarks he had made publicly.

The opposition also raised allegations of political violence during the campaign. On June 29, M’membe accused suspected UPND cadres of attacking Socialist Party members at a planned campaign rally in Kanyama’s Makeni Constituency. He alleged that three minibuses carrying suspected UPND supporters arrived armed with pangas and other weapons, assaulted party members, disrupted the gathering, injured several people, and stole a phone belonging to an SP parliamentary candidate.

The Socialist Party also reported that one of its polling agents, Lovemore Chishimba, was killed on election day. The party has called for justice and says it remains committed to establishing accountability for his death.

The Mundubile raid and questions over the electoral process

Tensions escalated further when reports emerged that Brian Mundubile’s residence had been raided and several opposition figures arrested. Authorities described the arrests in security terms, accusing those detained of involvement in an alleged armed-insurrection plot, a characterization Mundubile has rejected.

Perhaps the most consequential unresolved issue concerns the GEN 20 forms, the documents central to the presidential results-management process. Mundubile has demanded that the ECZ explain the custody and movement of the forms, questioning reports that they were collected from districts and raising concerns about possible interference or alteration.

He has specifically called for clarification on who authorized the collection of the forms, the legal basis for moving them, and who had access to them. More broadly, the opposition is demanding independent verification and greater transparency in how electoral documents were handled.

Harry Kalaba, who received 19,070 votes, described the campaign period as conducted under conditions of intimidation and irregularities, while also praising Zambian citizens for choosing peace over violence.

But Kalaba warned that Zambia risked moving from being regarded as a model of democratic stability to becoming a cautionary tale.

“The process we have just witnessed raises serious concerns that cannot be ignored,” he said. Reports of intimidation, interference with polling processes, inconsistencies in the handling of electoral materials, and uneven application of the law, he argued, pointed to a process that fell short of the democratic standards Zambia has historically upheld.

As previously mentioned, reports emerged on August 19, indicating that a former Zambian minister had been killed during the raid, putting more scrutiny on the electoral process and harassment faced by candidates.

Legitimacy question remains

The election may have settled who will govern Zambia for the next five years. But it has not settled the question of how much trust Zambians can place in the institutions through which that government was elected. The coming months will reveal how the opposition’s complaints and concerns are handled and whether the reported political violence is investigated.

From BT News via This RSS Feed.