Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema has been re-elected for a second five-year term, securing a comfortable 60% of the vote, according to the electoral commission. Because nothing says 'democratic mandate' like a result that was 'widely expected' and contested by the guy who got 38%.
Hichilema's closest challenger, 55-year-old Brian Mundubile, got 38% of the votes, while the remaining 12 candidates trailed so far behind they might as well have been running in a different race. Mundubile, however, was not content to just lose gracefully. He earlier declared victory and alleged, without providing evidence, that there had been voting irregularities. Because why accept reality when you can accuse the system of being rigged?
The election was not without its drama. Friday saw the arrest of some leading opposition figures in a raid, with authorities accusing them of plotting an insurrection. Mundubile called the claim a fabrication, which is a polite way of saying 'that's a load of nonsense.'
After being declared the winner, the 64-year-old Hichilema gave a speech that was all humility and unity: "We are truly humbled by the trust you have placed in our hands." He added that the election showed Zambia is a place of peace, law, and order, and a 'democratic nation that settles our differences at the ballot box, and nowhere else.' He even had kind words for those who didn't vote for him: "To those citizens who preferred the ideas presented by our opponents, we hear you, and we will continue to work for you." Aww, how magnanimous. Let's see if that holds up.
Hundreds of Hichilema's supporters, clad in the red colors of his United Party for National Development (UPND), flooded the streets of Lusaka to celebrate. Because nothing says 'peaceful democracy' like a spontaneous street party after a contested election.
Zambia does have a record of peaceful transfers of power, with presidential transitions occurring via the ballot box since multiparty democracy returned in 1991. So at least there's that. Whether the opposition will challenge the result remains unclear, but Mundubile has already raised concerns about discrepancies between polling-station results and official announcements, and claimed military involvement at tallying centers. He also described Friday's raid on his home, saying armed personnel knocked down his gate with an armored vehicle, broke doors and windows, and opened fire. He denied allegations that high-grade military weapons were stored at his home or that any militia was present. "So they came in to kill us," he told the BBC. Yikes.
Hichilema's election agent, Mulambo Haimbe, called Mundubile's remarks 'not correct' and said criminal charges were being brought against those arrested. He also said the courts would address matters if the opposition challenged the outcome. Because what better way to resolve election disputes than through the courts, which are totally independent and impartial, right?
Meanwhile, the electoral commission briefly suspended counting and the announcement of results a day after polling, citing reports of violence targeting polling staff and theft of marked ballot papers in some areas. Regional and international observers described election day as largely peaceful and urged calm and respect for the official process. But they did raise concerns about late electoral reforms, media freedom, and access to media before the poll. Samuel Tembenu, a former Malawi minister leading the southern African bloc (Sadc) observer mission, noted that his team 'recorded, but could not verify, reports of intimidation, assault, abduction and damage to property in five provinces.' So, you know, mostly peaceful, except for all that unverified stuff.
Observers also worried that the brief suspension of vote counting risked the credibility of the process and voter confidence. The EU observation mission warned that restrictions on the opposition during campaigning might have led to an 'uneven contest.' Because nothing says 'free and fair' like an uneven playing field.
So, Zambia has a president, the opposition is unhappy, and the observers are mildly concerned. In other words, it's an election. Let's hope the next five years are less dramatic.