Hichilema wins second term in Zambia with 60% as rival Mundubile disputes election

By Staff Reporter
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has secured a second and final five-year term after winning 60 percent of the presidential vote, defeating his main challenger Brian Mundubile following a tense election marred by opposition allegations of irregularities and concerns from observers over the political environment.

The Electoral Commission announced Hichilema as the winner after Mundubile secured 38 percent, leaving the remaining 12 presidential candidates trailing far behind.


The victory gives the 64-year-old Hichilema another five years in office after he first swept to power in 2021, ending the Patriotic Front’s decade-long rule.

“We are truly humbled by the trust you have placed in our hands,” Hichilema said following the declaration.

He portrayed the election as evidence of Zambia’s democratic credentials, saying the southern African country remained a nation where political differences were resolved through elections.

“To those citizens who preferred the ideas presented by our opponents, we hear you, and we will continue to work for you,” he added.

Hundreds of supporters of Hichilema’s United Party for National Development (UPND), many wearing the party’s red colours, poured onto the streets of Lusaka to celebrate his victory.

Mundubile disputes outcome
The result, however, comes against the backdrop of a bitter dispute with Mundubile, 55, who had claimed victory before the official declaration and alleged discrepancies between results recorded at polling stations and figures subsequently announced.

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He also raised allegations of military involvement at tallying centres.


Presidential challenger Brian Mundubile, is a former minister in the Patriotic Front government (Picture via Brian Mundulibe, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)
No evidence substantiating claims that the overall result was manipulated has been publicly presented.

Mundubile’s National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) told the BBC that the opposition leader was in a “secure location under the protection of an international human rights body due to threats made against him.”

Local media reported that Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu had sought refuge at a United Nations agency in Lusaka amid fears they could be arrested.

It remained unclear whether the opposition would mount a formal court challenge against Hichilema’s victory.

The tensions intensified after authorities arrested several prominent opposition figures during a raid on Friday, accusing them of involvement in an alleged plot to stage an insurrection.

Mundubile rejected the accusations as fabricated.

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He subsequently alleged that armed personnel raided his Lusaka home using an armoured vehicle to break through the gate before damaging doors and windows and opening fire.

Mundubile denied authorities’ allegations that high-grade military weapons or a militia were being harboured at the property.

“So they came in to kill us,” he told the BBC.

Mulambo Haimbe, Hichilema’s election agent and a senior UPND official, rejected Mundubile’s account as inaccurate and said criminal charges were being pursued against those arrested.

He said Zambia’s courts were available to determine any disputes should the opposition challenge the election results.

Counting briefly suspended
The election process had already been thrown into uncertainty a day after polling when the Electoral Commission temporarily suspended vote counting and the announcement of results nationwide.

The commission cited violence against electoral officials and the theft of marked ballot papers and ballot boxes in some areas.

Counting resumed later the same day after consultations with law-enforcement agencies, with the commission saying the security threat had been contained.

The interruption nevertheless attracted scrutiny from election observers concerned about its potential impact on public confidence in the process.

Regional and international observers said polling day itself was largely peaceful and called on political parties and their supporters to resolve disputes through established legal mechanisms.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) observer mission said it had received reports of intimidation and other incidents in five provinces, although mission leader Samuel Tembenu said the reports could not be independently verified.

Observers also raised broader concerns about the environment preceding the election.

The European Union observation mission warned that restrictions imposed on opposition political activity during the campaign may have contributed to an “uneven contest”.

Concerns were additionally raised over media freedom, opposition access to the media and electoral reforms introduced close to the election.

Hichilema faces economic expectations
Hichilema’s re-election gives him another five years to convince Zambians that improvements in headline economic indicators can translate into better living conditions.

His administration has pointed to debt restructuring, lower inflation, infrastructure investment and improvements in the currency as evidence that Zambia has recovered from the severe economic difficulties he inherited after taking office in 2021.

But unemployment, household incomes and the cost of living remained prominent election issues, with many voters complaining that improvements at the macroeconomic level had yet to substantially improve their daily circumstances.

Mundubile sought to capitalise on that frustration while drawing support from sections of the political constituency previously aligned with former president Edgar Lungu and the Patriotic Front.

Lungu’s death and the extraordinary dispute between his family and Hichilema’s government over his burial had further heightened political tensions ahead of the election.

Hichilema’s emphatic 60 percent victory now gives him a renewed mandate, but the opposition’s rejection of aspects of the electoral process means the political fallout from the vote may not yet be over.

Zambia has long been regarded as one of southern Africa’s more resilient multiparty democracies. Since the restoration of multiparty politics in 1991, changes of government have repeatedly occurred through elections.

How the government handles the opposition’s allegations and any subsequent legal challenge could therefore become an important test of that reputation.