Photograph: Dawood Salim/AFP/Getty Images
Zambia’s president has been re-elected in a closely contested vote, with the result rejected by the country’s main opposition party.
The commission said Edgar Lungu, of the ruling Patriotic Front party, had received 1,860,877 votes while his closest challenger, Hakainde Hichilema, of the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND), received 1,760,347.
For the first time, the winner needed more than 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff election. The counting process after votes were cast on Thursday took days and prompted opposition allegations of irregularities.
Zambia’s main opposition party rejected the result, claiming the electoral commission had colluded to rig the vote against Hichilema.
Photograph: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images
“We have evidence to the effect that the votes for Hakainde Hichilema have been deliberately reduced in collusion with the electoral commission of Zambia,” said the UPND’s lawyer, Jack Mwiimbu. “We have confidence that the constitutional court will rise above board and declare the results a nullity.”
The election followed a tense campaign marred by street clashes, though Thursday was mostly peaceful. Lungu, who took office in January 2015 after the death of Michael Sata, won a tight election over Hichilema last year.
Zambia’s record of peaceful power transitions had been held up as a democratic model in Africa. International observers have urged Zambians to direct any complaints about the election process to the courts, rather than taking to the streets.
“In this tense and competitive climate it is essential that the security forces respect the constitution and remain impartial and professional in the discharge of their duties,” said Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general.
The Carter Center, the human rights organisation founded by the former US president Jimmy Carter, said the weeks ahead would test Zambia’s democratic institutions.
“The country still faces significant challenges as its nascent dispute resolution processes will surely be tested for the first time,” it said.