Zambia’s Hichilema leads presidential vote count

Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema was well ahead in counting for national elections on ​Sunday with nearly half the constituencies declared, ‌the electoral commission said.

Hichilema had 54.82% or 1,056,812 of the declared votes, figures showed, putting him on ​track for re-election without a second-round runoff ​if he keeps the overall majority.

His main ⁠challenger, Brian Mundubile, was in second place ​with 43% or 830,841 of the declared votes, ​with 105 out of 226 constituencies announced by around 1500 GMT.

The presidential vote — held alongside parliamentary and local elections ​on Thursday — is seen as a test ​of whether Hichilema’s economic gains since a pandemic-era debt ‌crisis ⁠are enough to win him a second term in Africa’s second-largest copper producer after the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Electoral Commission of Zambia temporarily halted ​vote counting ​on Friday, ⁠citing violence against officials and the theft of ballot papers.

Zambia’s police ​have denied a report by opposition leader ​Mundubile’s camp that he was arrested and detained.

If no presidential candidate gets at least 50%, a second-round ⁠vote ​will take place within 37 ​days of the initial poll.