Zambian President Hichilema heads towards 2nd-term victory

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema took a commanding lead Sunday in the country's presidential race, securing more than 1.5 million votes from 135 of the 226 constituencies counted.

Hichilema, 64, who is seeking re-election under the banner of the ruling United Party for National Development (UPND), has so far secured 1,544,140 votes. His closest challenger among the 12 other candidates, Brian Mundubile of the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP), has received 1,030,662 votes.

The consolidated results were announced at the National Election Results Center in the capital, Lusaka, around 2130GMT by Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis.

For Hichilema, an economist and rancher, a second term in office would provide an opportunity to consolidate the gains made during his first term, which began in 2021 after he secured a landslide victory, defeating incumbent Edgar Lungu with a margin of more than one million votes.

He cites his achievements so far as mainly having restructured the country's excessive debt, revived its mining sector and enhanced social sector support through programs such as free education for students in public primary and secondary schools.

Mundubile, 55, a lawyer, has seen his opposition alliance also win a number of parliamentary seats, particularly in constituencies along Zambia's urbanized corridor running roughly through Lusaka and the Copperbelt.

Under Zambia's Constitution, a presidential candidate must receive more than 50% of the valid votes cast to be declared president-elect. If no candidate reaches that threshold in the initial ballot, a second ballot is held between the leading candidates.