Gary Nkombo loses Mazabuka Central parliamentary seat to Vincent Lilanda

11 Views Independent Mazabuka Central constituency parliamentary candidate Gary Nkombo has lost to United Party for National Development (UPND) parliamentary candidate Vincent Lilanda. This puts an end to a challenging political chapter for Nkombo, who has served the constituency through a significant period of Zambia’s political history. The Electoral Commission of Zambia is yet to […]

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Independent Mazabuka Central constituency parliamentary candidate Gary Nkombo has lost to United Party for National Development (UPND) parliamentary candidate Vincent Lilanda.

This puts an end to a challenging political chapter for Nkombo, who has served the constituency through a significant period of Zambia’s political history.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia is yet to release official results.

The commission is expected to brief the public around mid-morning today on how many results it has received so far.

Speaking shortly before midnight, ECZ Chief Electoral Officer Brown Kasaro said it was still too early to confirm exactly when the first results would be made public, but an update was planned for today.

Addressing the media at the National Results Centre in Lusaka, Kasaro said the team would start sharing results once counting and transmission from constituencies advanced further.

He noted that no results would be released overnight on August 13, and that if enough results came in by morning or mid-morning, the commission would provide an update on receipt of those results.

Kasaro added that ECZ remains committed to following the legal timeframe and to declaring the presidential election within 72 hours.

He explained how the process works from the ground up. After polls close, votes are counted at each polling station and the outcome is announced there. Those figures are public, but they do not constitute the official constituency result.

According to Kasaro, the commission will not repeat polling station numbers because that responsibility lies with officials at the station. ECZ will only announce a constituency once all polling stations within it have submitted results, and after verification and consolidation. The returning officer then declares that constituency.

He said counting would continue through the night because voters cast ballots in four different elections at the same time. On average, he said, it takes about six hours to finish counting at one polling station.

Given what the commission was seeing, Kasaro said there was growing confidence that some results could be shared today.