Zambia incumbent takes early election lead as opposition alleges armed raid

What the report says

Zambia’s incumbent president, Hakainde Hichilema, has taken an early lead in the country’s general election, with the electoral commission saying more than half of constituencies had been counted by Sunday. Based on the published tally, he was on course for a possible first-round win, while his nearest challenger, Brian Mundubile of the opposition National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity, was trailing by a wide margin.

The vote has been complicated by opposition claims of violence and intimidation. The count was paused for several hours on Friday after reports of attacks on polling staff and allegations that marked ballots had been taken. The European Union’s observer mission called the suspension excessive, while Zambia’s electoral commission said the situation had been brought under control.

The opposition alliance also accused armed personnel it believes were from the Zambian army of raiding Mundubile’s Lusaka home on Friday night, firing shots, injuring a lawmaker and taking several people away. Mundubile urged supporters not to retaliate, and opposition parties called for regional and international intervention. Zambian authorities had not publicly responded to the allegation in the material reviewed.

Al Jazeera’s reporting also cited observers who said the campaign environment was tilted toward the incumbent, with concerns about state media bias and blurred lines between government activity and campaigning. Zambia has generally held peaceful transfers of power since multiparty politics returned in 1991, making the current tensions notable ahead of final results expected in the coming days.