Celebrations begin as candidate leads race

Supporters of Zambian opposition candidate Hakainde Hichilema have begun celebrating Saturday as early election results show him leading in the tightlyfought, tense presidential race.

Ignoring calls by the Electoral Commission for people to wait peacefully for the final official results, young opposition supporters drove through the streets of the capital, Lusaka, playing music and singing. They gathered at the headquarters of Hichilema’s United Party for National Development.

But signaling that he may not accept defeat, President Edgar Lungu asserted that the elections had not been free and fair in three provinces seen as opposition strongholds, citing violence and killings of his supporters, allegedly by the opposition. Lungu claimed that ruling party polling agents had been brutalized and chased away from voting stations, leaving his party’s votes “unprotected.”

Results from 31 of the country’s 156 constituencies have Hichilema in the lead with 449,699 votes to President Edgar Lungu’s 266,202. The commission said it will update the results as votes from the constituencies are tabulated and expects to announce the final results by Monday.