Independent Tally Puts HH’s Win Margin Below Official ECZ Figure

HH’s Winning Margin Narrower Under Independent Vote Count, CSOs Say An independent parallel vote tabulation conducted by a coalition of civil society organisations has put President Hakainde Hichilema’s share of the presidential vote at 57.9 percent, nearly three percentage…

HH’s Winning Margin Narrower Under Independent Vote Count, CSOs Say

An independent parallel vote tabulation conducted by a coalition of civil society organisations has put President Hakainde Hichilema’s share of the presidential vote at 57.9 percent, nearly three percentage points below the official 60.49 percent declared by the Electoral Commission of Zambia. The Consortium of Civil Society Organisations for Good Governance and Constitutionalism released its findings on Monday, presenting them as additional confirmation that the overall election outcome was accurately captured, even as the numbers diverge from the official count.

Consortium chairperson Isaac Mwanza said the differences between the parallel tabulation and the official results were within approximately three percentage points across the provinces for the two leading candidates. The PVT estimated Brian Mundubile received 40.2 percent of the vote, compared with the official figure of 37.87 percent announced by ECZ. Mwanza stressed that the parallel exercise was never intended to substitute the Commission, which remains the constitutionally mandated body responsible for declaring official results.

Mwanza said Zambians had spoken through the ballot at presidential, parliamentary and local government levels, and that their choices deserved respect. He added that those dissatisfied with particular outcomes retained the right to challenge them through the courts and other lawful mechanisms, a comment that carried weight given the ongoing constitutional petition window.

The consortium’s briefing also touched on the broader health of Zambia’s electoral system. Mwanza said the election had exposed the need for comprehensive constitutional and electoral reforms, including clearer procedures for handling withdrawn candidates, running-mate vacancies, invalid votes and qualification verification. He urged ECZ to strengthen ballot-finalisation and voter-information procedures, particularly in situations where candidates withdraw after nomination.

The consortium further recommended the establishment of independent electoral courts to handle disputes arising from elections and political parties, alongside stronger public communication from institutions during the counting and declaration period. Mwanza appealed to political parties, media organisations, influencers and citizens to verify information before disseminating it, arguing that accurate information is critical to maintaining public confidence in the electoral process.

Key independent monitors, including the Christian Churches Monitoring Group and the African Union Election Observation Mission, were cited as having produced findings that narrowly matched the official results, according to commentary published alongside the consortium’s release. Those findings were interpreted by some observers as confirming that ECZ’s announced results accurately reflected the ballots cast, even where minor logistical or administrative inconsistencies were acknowledged.

Mwanza further appealed to President Hichilema and other political leaders to lead a post-election reconciliation process and support a political truce aimed at reducing divisions. He called for greater independence and political neutrality of security institutions, saying future security deployments should operate within clear legal and human-rights safeguards.

He cautioned that democracy does not end with the declaration of results, noting that its legitimacy is also measured by how a country responds to disagreements and grievances that follow. Zambia, he said, now needs reconciliation, justice, constitutionalism and institutional reform to ensure that political competition does not become a justification for violence, intimidation or exclusion.

The consortium’s release comes at a sensitive moment, with the seven-day constitutional window for challenging the presidential result coinciding with the closure of several court premises for security reasons. Civil society groups have separately raised concerns about that timing, while continuing to affirm that the broad thrust of the presidential result stands.