UPND Alliance Presidential Candidate Hakainde Hichilema is inches away from winning the presidential election, having secured 2,324,847 votes so far, from 128 out of Zambia’s 156 constituencies.
This gives HH a current majority of 58.32%, with just 28 constituencies left to be counted. President Edgar Lungu, meanwhile, is trailing with 1,464,681 votes – or 36.74%.
Turnout in these elections has been unprecedentedly high, with 71.02% of Zambians voting in Thursday’s polls.
Based on these figures, HH needs roughly 2.5 million votes to secure the presidency.
This news comes after the latest round of results announced by the ECZ this afternoon, with 22 further constituencies counted. Hichilema again secured an impressive sweep of votes from across the country, including in seats previously loyal to the Patriotic Front. In Chiengi constituency, Luapula Province, for example, the UPND leader won 18,884 votes – convincingly trumping Edgar Lungu’s 15,075.
A final batch of results are expected later today, although the ECZ has not yet indicated when this will be.