Zambia's Hichilema wins second term amid security concerns

Lusaka,UPDATED: Aug 18, 2026 08:12 IST

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has been re-elected for a second five-year term, the Electoral Commission of Zambia announced early Tuesday. He was declared the outright winner of last Thursday's presidential election without the need for a run-off after securing 61.4 per cent of the five million votes cast.

The result follows a closely watched election in which vote counting was suspended last Friday and restarted hours later under heightened security. The commission had said some polling station officials were attacked and ballot papers were stolen, while the government confirmed that several leading opposition figures were arrested on the night of the elections, with police accusing them of posing a threat to state security.

According to the commission, Hichilema received 2,965,326 votes. His closest competitor, opposition leader Brian Mundubile, won 1,856,217 votes, or about 38 per cent. "I therefore declare, Hichilema Hakainde S, to be president-elect of the Republic of Zambia this 18th day of August, 2026," commission chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis said.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Hichilema welcomed the result and thanked Zambians for re-electing him, while also reaching out to those who voted for the opposition. "To those citizens who preferred the ideas presented by our opponents, we hear you, and we will continue to work for you to ensure that every Zambian benefits from the development we are delivering," he said. There was no immediate reaction from Mundubile, who had earlier said his home was raided by police and described it as an attack on his life.

Thursday's election was seen as a test of Hichilema's economic recovery plan after the copper-rich nation was plunged into a debt crisis in 2020. Hichilema was elected in 2021 and oversaw the restructuring of Zambia's sovereign debt while reining in inflation and stabilising the currency. observers, including the European Union, said the election was largely peaceful, but said the "broader electoral process took place in an environment that limited fundamental freedoms". "Late legal changes, legal uncertainty, and unequal campaign conditions distorted the playing field," said Michael McNamara, chief of the EU observation mission.

In a pastoral statement, the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops expressed concern over the deployment of the army during vote counting, saying, "The maintenance of order during elections is constitutionally and statutorily the responsibility of the Zambia Police Service." Hichilema's win thus came in an election marked by security concerns, opposition arrests and scrutiny of the wider electoral process.

With PTI Inputs

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