‘This is our victory, let’s protect it, We’ve got it,” declares Makebi

24 Views The National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity, NRPUP, has declared confidence in the outcome of Zambia’s presidential election, with vice presidential candidate Makebi Zulu telling supporters on Friday morning that the party is on course for victory and must remain vigilant as results are collated. In a brief message posted to his […]

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The National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity, NRPUP, has declared confidence in the outcome of Zambia’s presidential election, with vice presidential candidate Makebi Zulu telling supporters on Friday morning that the party is on course for victory and must remain vigilant as results are collated.

In a brief message posted to his social media pages, Zulu called on party agents and members to stay at constituency and district tallying centres until the process is complete.

“Let’s continue to man the tallying centres. This is our victory, let’s protect it. We’ve got it,” he wrote.

The statement comes as the Electoral Commission of Zambia begins receiving and verifying results from across the country following Wednesday’s general election.

With 8.7 million registered voters, Zambians cast ballots for president, members of parliament, mayors and councillors in a poll that has drawn wide domestic and international attention.

Zulu’s message reflects the posture of NRPUP and its presidential candidate Brian Mundubile, who are fronting the TONSE opposition alliance.

Early provisional figures compiled from signed polling station result forms and local media reports show Mundubile performing strongly in parts of the urban Copperbelt, Luapula, Northern and Eastern provinces.

President Hakainde Hichilema, meanwhile, is posting very large margins in his traditional bases in Southern, Western and North-Western provinces, while also picking up votes in areas once considered difficult for the United Party for National Development.

NRPUP officials say the party’s focus now is on ensuring that every vote counted at polling stations is accurately reflected when results are consolidated at constituency level. In Zambia, the process starts with counting at each polling station immediately after polls close. Presiding officers announce those results publicly. The figures are then transmitted to constituency tally centres, where they are verified and summed before a returning officer declares the constituency result. The Electoral Commission only announces results after that constituency-level consolidation.

That system makes the role of party agents critical. They are tasked with witnessing the count, signing result forms known as GEN 20s, and tracking transmissions to prevent alterations. Zulu’s call to “man the tallying centres” is a standard directive in Zambian elections, aimed at guarding against discrepancies between what is announced locally and what is eventually declared.

Speaking to journalists at the National Results Centre in Lusaka just before midnight, ECZ Chief Electoral Officer Brown Kasaro said the commission would provide an update on results received around mid-morning.

He said no official announcements would be made overnight, and that the commission remains committed to declaring the presidential election within 72 hours as required by the constitution.

Kasaro explained that because voters cast ballots in four elections at once, counting takes time. On average it requires about six hours to complete at a single polling station. He added that results would continue to come in through the night and that the commission’s confidence was growing that some results could be shared during the day.

The NRPUP claim of an early lead aligns with the regional pattern seen in provisional returns so far. Mundubile is showing strength in urban Copperbelt stations and in parts of Northern and Eastern provinces that previously voted heavily for the former ruling Patriotic Front. In Kalulushi, for example, one provisional tally after 21 stations had Mundubile about 1,200 votes ahead.

At the same time, Hichilema is generating huge surpluses in the south and west. Stations in Dundumwezi, Kalomo South, Sioma and parts of North-Western have returned totals where the president leads by hundreds of votes to single digits for his challenger. A reported constituency tally from Mwinilunga West put Hichilema around 27,000 to just over 200, though that figure still awaits ECZ confirmation.

Political analysts note that Zambia’s presidential election is decided by the national aggregate, not by the number of provinces won. That means the size of margins matters more than geography. A candidate can win several provinces by narrow gaps and still lose if the opponent runs up overwhelming totals in fewer areas and also collects a meaningful share of votes in hostile territory.

It is in that context that Zulu’s message to supporters takes on significance. By urging agents to remain at tally centres, NRPUP is signaling it intends to contest any discrepancies and to ensure its early gains are not eroded during consolidation.

The party has cast itself as a unifying alternative, with Mundubile, a former PF member of parliament, leading the ticket and Zulu, a lawyer and former solicitor general, as his running mate. Their campaign has focused on economic recovery, anti-corruption measures and national reconciliation after years of polarized politics.

Whether that message has translated into enough votes nationally will only be clear once the Electoral Commission completes its verification process. For now, both NRPUP and UPND are telling supporters to stay calm, stay at the centres, and wait for the official count.

With counting still underway across all 156 constituencies, Zambia now enters the period that often determines public confidence in the outcome: the hours between local announcements and the commission’s formal declarations.

Zulu’s post suggests NRPUP believes it has the numbers. The next 24 hours will test whether that confidence holds when the commission begins releasing verified results.