Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema has defeated incumbent Edgar Lungu in Zambia’s presidential election, the electoral commission has announced. He is the seventh elected president of Zambia since independence in 1964.
In the final tally, Hichilema secured 2,810,777 votes while Lungu was in second place with 1,814,201 votes, out of seven million registered voters.
He became president-elect with close to 60% of the vote, more than the 50% of the vote as per constitutional requirement, with votes tallied from 155 of 156 constituencies nationwide. The massive win meant Hichilema does not have to contest any second round run-offs after meeting the constitutional 50.1 per cent threshold for an outright winner.
This was Hichilema’s sixth attempt at the country’s top office and the incumbent had defeated him in the previous two elections.