Zambia’s opposition leader to challenge election result in court

Zambian opposition leader Brian Mundubile said on Wednesday that he would challenge this week’s presidential election result in court, alleging vote fraud in the contest that handed President Hakainde Hichilemaa second term in office.

“Our campaign has documented serious irregularities, inconsistencies and circumstances surrounding the conduct, counting, transmission and declaration of results”, Mundubile said in a statement.

An election strategist for Hichilema declined immediate comment but said he would comment later.

The election commission declared Hichilema the winner with about 60% of valid votes in the early hours of Tuesday morning, compared with 38% for Mundubile.

After a relatively quiet run-up to the August 13 election in the mineral-rich Southern African nation of 22 million people, tensions escalated rapidly after the polls closed.

The authorities arrested 11 people including leading opposition figures in a raid that involved an exchange of gunfire, while Mundubile was present.

The electoral commission also suspended vote-counting for hours due to reports of violence against polling staff and the theft of ballot papers.