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Zambia’s electoral body has halted nationwide vote counting and result announcements, citing escalating violence against polling staff and the theft of marked ballots from collation centres.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) said in a statement signed by Chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis that it had “noted with concern” reports of attacks targeting poll staff in several districts, with some incidents leading to ballot boxes being tampered with and marked papers stolen.
Citing “continued threats of violence” and the deteriorating security situation, the Commission said it invoked Section 67(3) of the Electoral Process Act No. 35 of 2016 to suspend the process “with immediate effect,” pledging to review the decision within 24 hours.
The suspension lands squarely in the middle of a tense collation period. Zambians voted on Thursday, in a general election pitting President Hakainde Hichilema of the ruling United Party for National Development against Brian Mundubile of the opposition NRPUP-led Tonse Alliance, with 12 other candidates on the presidential ballot.
Counting began at polling stations as soon as voting closed, and the ECZ had targeted a final presidential declaration by Monday, August 17, even as parliamentary and mayoral results streamed in from constituencies through Thursday and Friday.
Early returns pointed to a closely fought race, with UPND and NRPUP trading parliamentary and mayoral seats across the Copperbelt, Lusaka and other provinces, a margin tight enough that any disruption to the chain of custody around ballots carries real weight.
The campaign season leading up to polling day had already been marked by friction: clashes over a disputed truck of election materials in Kabwe, opposition complaints about the ECZ’s ballot-security disclosures, and the revocation of a former MP’s results-centre accreditation over a threat video, among other flashpoints.
It is not yet clear which districts saw the worst of the violence prompting Friday’s suspension, or how long counting will remain halted beyond the Commission’s stated 24-hour review window.
The ECZ has previously used its authority to pause aspects of the electoral process over security concerns, it suspended campaigning in Lusaka and Namwala for 10 days ahead of the 2016 election following a fatal clash but a nationwide halt to counting itself, this late in the collation process, is a far more consequential step, with the potential to delay the presidential declaration and fuel further tension among competing camps.
The Commission has urged Zambians to rely only on official ECZ channels for updates and to avoid unverified reports as the situation develops.
