Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema has secured a second term after winning the country’s 2026 Presidential Election with 61.5 percent of the vote.
His re-election follows a campaign and vote-counting process marked by political tensions, with concerns raised over the treatment of opposition parties, political violence and the temporary suspension of vote counting.
Speaking to VOC News, Executive Director of the Democracy Development Program and Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg’s School of Public Management, Governance and Public Policy, Dr Paul Kariuki, said the tensions could have been avoided through greater transparency in the electoral process.
“We know in an atmosphere where there is openness and transparency of processes, there could not be any levels of tension that we have now seen post the elections,” Kariuki said.
He said several concerns emerged during the election, including allegations that opposition parties were not given the same amount of time to campaign as the ruling party.
Kariuki also pointed to reports of political violence and voter intimidation in certain parts of the country.
“On the same day of the election, there was a moment where election counting was stopped for a while, and then after it resumed, the incumbent was leading,” he said.
According to Kariuki, these developments have raised suspicions over the credibility of the election and could lead to further political challenges.
“All these things have raised quite a lot of suspicions, and of course they will not go unchallenged,” he said.
He expects the opposition to continue challenging the outcome, potentially through protests, judicial intervention or other political processes.
Kariuki said Zambia’s experience reflects broader challenges around contested election outcomes on the continent.
“There is a lot of contention when it comes to outcomes,” he said, warning that electoral norms can sometimes be “overlooked or even deliberately suspended” to favour those in power.
Attention will now turn to Hichilema’s second term, the opposition’s response and whether the political tensions surrounding the election will continue.
Listen to the full interview below:
Photo: Pixabay
