Hichilema’s lead tops half a million votes as ECZ declares results for 135 constituencies

ECZ declares results for 135 constituencies, extends Hichilema’s lead to over half a million votes The Electoral Commission of Zambia has declared presidential results for 135 of the country’s 226 constituencies, with incumbent Hakainde Hichilema holding a lead of 513,478 votes…

ECZ declares results for 135 constituencies, extends Hichilema’s lead to over half a million votes

The Electoral Commission of Zambia has declared presidential results for 135 of the country’s 226 constituencies, with incumbent Hakainde Hichilema holding a lead of 513,478 votes over NRPUP candidate Brian Mundubile as counting continues.

The figures were read out during the third results session of 17th August, held overnight and running past midnight. Thirty additional constituencies were announced during the session, lifting the cumulative total from 105 to 135 out of the 226 constituencies nationwide.

Hichilema, standing for the UPND, has now accumulated 1,544,140 votes across the declared constituencies. Mundubile, the NRPUP candidate, has recorded 1,030,662 votes over the same set. On a two-candidate basis, that places the President on 60 percent of the vote against 40 percent for his closest challenger.

Ten other candidates remain far behind the two frontrunners. Hari Kalaba of the Citizens First party has 11,711 votes, followed by Kelvin Walia of the ZMP on 11,062. Fred Membe of the Socialist Party has 6,905 votes, while independent candidate Given Katuta has 4,382. The remaining candidates, including Given Chansa of MEE, Brian Mushimba of OPP, Richard Silumbe of LM, Akim Njovu of DU, Howard Kunda of Zawapa and Richwell Siamunene of NFP, have each polled under 3,300 votes across the 135 declared constituencies.

Across the 135 constituencies, 4,793,053 voters were registered. Of these, 2,623,640 votes were recorded as valid and 77,647 as rejected, bringing total votes cast to 2,701,287. That produces a turnout of 56.36 percent for the constituencies declared so far.

The Commission’s Chief Electoral Officer opened the session by clarifying an earlier discrepancy involving Kembe East. He explained that a results spreadsheet had printed the Kembe East schedule twice instead of showing Kembe East and Kembe West separately, and confirmed the underlying vote totals had not changed. He said the correction was intended to give stakeholders and members of the press further clarity on the earlier session’s figures.

Commissioners then took turns reading results constituency by constituency, moving across Northwestern, Northern, Southern, Copperbelt, Central, Western, Luapula and Eastern provinces. Results were read out for constituencies including Fumbo, Mpulungu South, Choma South, Itezhi-Tezhi East, Nshanga, Mwengwa, Sesheke West, Kapiri Mposhi East, Kazungula South, Mazabuka Central, Lima, Kazungula North, Siavonga, Mwinilunga East, Chasefu South, Luampa West, Bahati, Maramba, Roma, Vubwi, Kalabo Central, Kasenengwa, Chifubu, Mongu East, Kariba, Nchelenge, Kabompo West, Livingstone Central, Mulobezi and Nalikwanda.

Hichilema led in the large majority of these constituencies, particularly in urban and Southern Province seats. In Mazabuka Central he polled 38,895 votes against 3,410 for Mundubile, and in Nshanga on the Copperbelt he recorded 10,207 votes to his rival’s 22,090, one of the few seats where Mundubile outpolled the President by a wide margin. Mundubile also performed strongly in Lima constituency in Lusaka Province, where he polled 22,486 votes against 8,578 for Hichilema, and in Chifubu on the Copperbelt, where he led with 20,789 votes to 10,295.

Turnout varied significantly by constituency, ranging from lows around 43 percent in Kapiri Mposhi East and Vubwi to highs above 85 percent in Kabompo West and above 91 percent in Fumbo.

The Commission’s presentation, shared publicly as an infographic tracking the count, shows the running position across six results batches. The lead between the two candidates has widened steadily as more constituencies have reported, growing from 21,312 votes after five constituencies to 81,626 after 27, then 120,639 after 70, 225,971 after 105, and 513,478 at the 135-constituency mark. The infographic records the current count as 59.7 percent of constituencies reporting, with 91 still outstanding, a figure distinct from the 56.36 percent voter turnout drawn from the transcript, which measures the share of registered voters who cast ballots rather than the share of constituencies declared.

The Commission’s Chief Electoral Officer confirmed the next results session would begin at 09:00 the following morning, continuing the count of the remaining 91 constituencies.

No winner has yet been declared. Under Zambian electoral law, a presidential candidate must secure more than 50 percent of the valid vote to avoid a run-off, a threshold that will depend on results from the constituencies still outstanding.

The announcement comes during a count already marked by a temporary suspension earlier in the week and separate legal challenges over the process, though Wednesday’s session proceeded without reference to those disputes. The Commission is expected to continue releasing results in daily sessions until all 226 constituencies have reported.