Zambian President Hichilema re-elected with 61% of the vote

Hakainde Hichilema has won a second presidential term in Zambia, according to results announced Tuesday, August 18, 2026, by the electoral commission. His main opponent, Brian Mundubile, obtained 38% of the vote and denounced irregularities.

The Zambian electoral commission declared Hakainde Hichilema re-elected president following an election held the previous Thursday. The incumbent president garnered 61,4% of the approximately five million votes cast, compared to 38% for his rival, Brian Mundubile. "I therefore declare Hichilema Hakainde S. President-elect of the Republic of Zambia, this 18 August 2026," said the commission's chairwoman, Mwangala Zaloumis.

Five of the country's 226 constituencies had not yet been counted at the time of the announcement, but Zaloumis judged that their results were "not likely to materially influence the overall result" of the election.

Election night was marked by tensions. Authorities arrested eleven people, including several opposition figures, in what the government described as a raid against "militia activities." Mundubile's party, the NRPUP, rejected these accusations and claimed that shots were fired during an operation at its candidate's home. Mundubile, a former provincial minister, denounced the operation as an attack on his life.

The vote count had also been suspended for nearly six hours on Friday following reports of attacks against election workers and ballot thefts. The resumption of the count, under heightened security, did not allay the concerns of international observers. The observation missions, including that of the European Union, considered this prolonged interruption a threat to the credibility of the process and voter confidence.

Hichilema, 64, was running for president for the seventh time. He came to power in 2021, inheriting an economy weakened by a debt crisis and a recession linked to the pandemic. His first term was marked by a restructuring of the public debt and a decrease in inflation, arguments he emphasized during the campaign. "We are truly touched by the trust you have placed in us," he said after the results were announced, adding to the voters who had cast their ballots for the opposition: "We hear you, and we will continue to work for you."

Mundubile, who was running for president for the first time, had focused his campaign on the gap between improving macroeconomic indicators and the real living conditions of Zambians.