Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema has been re-elected for a second five-year term after securing approximately 60% of the vote in the August 13 presidential election, the Electoral Commission of Zambia announced early on Tuesday.
Official results showed Hichilema of the ruling United Party for National Development receiving 2,965,326 votes, or about 60.5%. His main challenger, Brian Mundubile, obtained 1,856,217 votes, roughly 38%. The remaining candidates finished far behind.
Electoral Commission chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis declared Hichilema the outright winner, confirming he had surpassed the 50% threshold needed to avoid a run-off.
In a statement after the announcement, the 64-year-old incumbent said: “We are truly humbled by the trust you have placed in our hands.” He described the election as evidence that Zambia is “a democratic nation that settles our differences at the ballot box, and nowhere else,” and pledged to work for all citizens, including those who backed his opponents.
The result came after a contested process marked by opposition claims of irregularities. Mundubile had earlier alleged voting irregularities without providing evidence and briefly claimed victory. Authorities also reported incidents of violence against polling staff and the theft of some ballot papers, which led to a temporary suspension of vote counting. Several opposition figures were arrested in a raid that the government linked to alleged threats to state security; Mundubile rejected the claims.
Hichilema, who first took office in 2021, campaigned on his record of economic stabilisation following Zambia’s debt crisis. Supporters of the president celebrated in the streets of Lusaka after the results were declared.
