ECZ CLARIFIES KEMBE EAST ERROR AS PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS REACH 135 CONSTITUENCIES

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has announced consolidated presidential election results from 135 of the 226 constituencies, with UPND candidate Hakainde Hichilema leading the tally.

ECZ Chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis said Mr Hichilema had secured 1,544,140 votes, while NRPUP candidate Brian Mundubile was in second position with 1,030,662 votes. The Commission said the 135 constituencies had 4,793,053 registered voters, with 2,701,287 votes cast. Of these, 2,623,640 were valid votes, while 77,647 were rejected, representing a 56.36 percent voter turnout.

Meanwhile, ECZ Chief Electoral Officer Brown Kasaro has clarified concerns surrounding the Kembe East constituency results, which appeared twice in one of the schedules used during the results announcement.

Mr Kasaro explained that Kembe East was mistakenly printed twice instead of showing Kembe East and Kembe West. He said the error was limited to the schedule and did not affect the actual results, as the totals recorded in the Commission’s system remained unchanged.