The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) says the first update on results from Wednesday’s general election will be issued at 22:00 hours tonight, hours after suspending the nationwide count over reports of violence and ballot theft. The Commission has also cautioned candidates against declaring themselves winners ahead of an official result.
What the Commission said
Briefing reporters on Friday, ECZ said its first results update would come at 22:00 hours tonight. The Commission repeated its warning that only ECZ has legal authority to declare a winner, at any level, from polling station to the presidency, and urged candidates and their supporters not to pre-empt that process.
The update follows a nationwide suspension of counting and announcement that ECZ Chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis ordered earlier on Friday, citing attacks on polling staff and the theft of marked ballot papers from ballot boxes in some districts. Zaloumis said the suspension was made under Section 67(3) of the Electoral Process Act No. 35 of 2016, with a review promised within 24 hours.
Why the warning on self-declared wins matters
The caution follows a public declaration of victory by opposition leader Brian Mundubile of the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity, who said his party’s own Parallel Voter Tabulation showed him ahead. That claim carries no legal standing on its own. Under Zambian law, only ECZ can declare a result, and it does so after reconciling constituency-level figures against signed polling-station documentation, not against a party’s internal count.
Readers should continue to treat any results not sourced to ECZ, whether from a party, a constituency tallying centre, or social media, as provisional until the Commission confirms them.
What to expect at 22:00
An initial update is not the same as a final or presidential declaration. Before Friday’s suspension, ECZ had said provisional results would trickle in through the day, with the presidential result due within its stated 72-hour window from the close of polling, and Chief Electoral Officer Brown Kasaro had previously pointed to Monday, 17 August as the likely date for a final presidential announcement.
Tonight’s update is therefore likely to represent an early tranche of verified results rather than a complete national picture, and it comes against the backdrop of a count that ECZ itself paused hours earlier over security concerns.
Why it matters for the economy
For businesses and investors watching the vote as a signal on the direction of President Hakainde Hichilema’s economic reform programme, the practical effect of Friday’s events has been a longer wait for certainty. A nationwide halt on results announcement, rather than a routine delay in individual constituencies, carries a different order of uncertainty than markets typically price in around election timing.
Key takeaways
- ECZ says its first results update will come at 22:00 hours tonight.
- The Commission has warned candidates against declaring themselves winners ahead of an official result.
- The update follows a nationwide suspension of counting and announcement earlier on Friday, prompted by reports of violence and ballot theft.
- Only ECZ has legal authority to declare winners at any level; party-tabulated claims, including Mundubile’s, remain unofficial.
This is a developing story. The Zambian Economist will update this article as ECZ’s 22:00 hours briefing takes place.
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Read more: ECZ Suspends Vote Counting Nationwide After Reports of Violence and Ballot Theft and LAZ Challenges Legality of ECZ’s Nationwide Vote-Counting Suspension.
