Hichilema Re-Elected as ECZ Declares Result in Early Hours

President Hakainde Hichilema has been re-elected to a second term, with the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) declaring the result in the early hours of Tuesday morning after a long night of counting at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre.

ECZ Chairperson and returning officer Mwangala Zaloumis, SC, formally announced the outcome at around 02:00 hours, confirming that President Hichilema had polled 2,965,326 votes to secure another five-year mandate. His closest challenger, Brian Mundubile of the NRPUP, finished on 1,856,217,

"I therefore declare Hichilema Hakainde S. to be President-elect of the Republic of Zambia, this 18th day of August 2026," Ms. Zaloumis said, invoking her powers under the Electoral Process Act.

The result cleared the 50%-plus-one threshold of 2,451,026 votes by a margin of 514,300, out of 4,902,050 valid votes cast nationally. Citizens First's Harry Kalaba came third with 19,070 votes, ahead of Kelvin Fube Bwalya (17,078) and Fred M'membe (12,194), with none of the eleven other candidates reaching even half a percent.

The declaration came despite Mundubile having controversially declared himself the winner barely 24 hours after voting closed. As the result was confirmed, jubilant citizens flooded the Great East Road outside the conference centre to celebrate.

President Hichilema thanked Zambians for their trust, pledging to work "harder than ever" to deliver development, and reaching out to those who had backed his opponents.