Zambia has resumed counting the votes after an incident in which attackers assaulted election officials

The Electoral Commission of Zambia announced on Friday that it had restarted the counting of votes in the presidential and parliamentary elections following a previous suspension caused by reports of violence against officials and the theft of ballot papers.

The commission announced that it has now addressed the security threat to the electoral process. “The suspension of the counting and the announcement of results has been lifted with immediate effect,” stated Commission Chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis during a press conference. Zaloumis did not indicate whether the theft of the ballot papers would impact the final results.

President Hakainde Hichilema is pursuing a second term in the Southern African copper producer and is generally considered to have an advantage over opposition leader and first-time presidential candidate Brian Mundubule.

The results are set to be announced on Monday.

Earlier, Hichilema urged for patience in a social media post, while Mundubile asserted his victory without presenting any evidence and demanded the immediate release of the results.

Zaloumis stated that the initial set of results would be revealed later on Friday and urged all candidates to “refrain from declaring themselves as the winners of these elections,” noting that such actions constitute an offense.

Previous elections were predominantly peaceful.

The electoral commission has yet to announce any official results, although some preliminary counts have been released at the constituency level.

According to the information received from polling stations and centers nationwide, our tabulation shows that we have emerged victorious in this election,” Mundubile stated in a video shared on his social media platforms.

We regard the ongoing delay in the clear announcement and verification of presidential results with serious concern.

Hichilema posted on social media just prior to the announcement of the suspension of vote counting, stating that he had received “encouraging results.”

Let us stay calm, composed, and devoted as we await the official results from those responsible for overseeing the vote,” he stated.

Zambia conducts regular multi-party elections that are generally peaceful, though there have been occasional instances of violence in past elections.

Civil society groups and opposition parties had raised alarms about increasing repression ahead of the election, citing restrictions on opposition campaigns, though the government refuted these claims.