Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema has widened his lead in the country’s presidential election as the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) continues to tally results from the 13 August poll.
By the latest count, results from 135 of Zambia’s 226 constituencies had been announced. Hichilema had secured 1,546,140 votes, compared with 1,030,662 for his closest challenger, Brian Mundubile, according to figures reported from the ECZ’s National Results Centre in Lusaka. The tally puts Hichilema on approximately 58.9% of the valid votes counted so far, while Mundubile has about 39.3%.
The figures represent an increase in Hichilema’s margin from the previous stage of the count. On Sunday, results from 105 constituencies showed the incumbent with 1,056,812 votes, or 54.82%, against Mundubile’s 830,841, or 43%. The movement in the figures reflects the continuing addition of constituency-level results rather than a final national outcome.
Hichilema, 64, is seeking a second five-year term under the United Party for National Development (UPND), having defeated then-president Edgar Lungu in the 2021 election. Mundubile, a lawyer and first-time presidential candidate, is contesting under the opposition National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity and has emerged as the principal challenger in the current race.
The election is being closely watched within Zambia and across the wider region because of the intersection between political legitimacy, economic recovery and the lived experience of households. Hichilema came to office after Zambia’s sovereign debt default and has made debt restructuring, investment, mining-sector recovery and social programmes central to his administration’s record. The country has subsequently made progress towards restructuring its debt and restoring macroeconomic stability, although improvements at the national economic level have not necessarily translated evenly into lower living costs, employment opportunities or greater purchasing power for all households.
That distinction is important in assessing the election. Zambia’s economic trajectory cannot be reduced solely to headline indicators or investor confidence. The country remains heavily dependent on copper and is seeking to expand production and investment while attempting to ensure that mineral wealth contributes more broadly to livelihoods, public services and domestic economic activity. The election therefore provides a political test not only of the government’s economic management, but also of how Zambians assess the distribution and everyday consequences of that recovery.
The counting process has also introduced an additional layer of scrutiny. On Friday, the ECZ temporarily suspended the tally after reporting attacks on election officials and the theft of ballot papers. Counting subsequently resumed after the commission said the security situation had been brought under control. The incidents have raised concerns about the integrity and security of the electoral process, although they have not, at this stage, altered the overall direction of the announced presidential tally.
The ECZ has stressed that presidential results are announced progressively as constituency results are received and verified at the National Results Centre. Under Zambia’s electoral framework, a presidential candidate must obtain more than 50% of valid votes cast to be declared president-elect. If no candidate crosses that threshold, the two leading candidates proceed to a second ballot within 37 days of the initial election.
Hichilema’s current position therefore places him above the constitutional threshold on the votes counted so far, but the result remains formally unsettled until the ECZ completes the national tally and makes its declaration. The remaining 91 constituencies account for a substantial share of the electorate, meaning that the final result must be distinguished from the direction indicated by the partial count.
The geographical distribution of the vote also offers a more complex picture than the national aggregate alone. Local reporting indicates that, among the 135 constituencies announced at the latest stage, Hichilema was leading in 69 while Mundubile was ahead in 66. This illustrates how a candidate can hold a substantial national vote advantage while the constituency-level contest remains competitive across significant parts of the country.
The election is consequently about more than whether Hichilema secures another term. It will also shape the political balance between the presidency, Parliament and local government, while influencing the direction of Zambia’s economic policy at a time when the country is seeking to translate debt restructuring and renewed mineral investment into more inclusive growth.
For Zambia’s citizens, the significance of the election ultimately extends beyond the arithmetic of the count. Questions of economic opportunity, the cost of living, public services, political freedoms and confidence in electoral institutions are likely to remain central to the assessment of whoever emerges as the next president.
The ECZ’s final declaration will therefore carry significance beyond confirming a numerical winner. It will also mark the next stage in Zambia’s continuing effort to reconcile economic transformation with democratic accountability and the expectations of its citizens.
