Zambia suspends election vote counting over reports of violence

Zambia suspended vote counting nationwide on Friday following reports of violence in some districts, the electoral commission said. The copper-rich southern African nation went to the polls on Thursday in an election focused on economic hardship. President Hakainde Hichilema, who has been in power since 2021, faced off against his main challenger among the 14 contenders – Brian Mundubile, a 55-year-old former minister in the previous Patriotic Front (PF) government. Zambia voters weigh Hichilema's economic record To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Cover image: © France 24 01:48 "The violence is targeted at poll staff, and in some instances has resulted in the theft of marked ballot papers in ballot boxes," chief electoral officer Brown Kasaro said. The commission would review the suspension within 24 hours, he added. Mundubile claimed a first-round victory on Friday. "We have won this election both at presidential level and majority seats in parliament," said Mundubile. ...