Hichilema wins Zambia's 2026 election for a second term

LUSAKA — President Hakainde Hichilema is Zambia's president-elect for a second term, the Electoral Commission of Zambia declared on Tuesday, after a five-day count across all 226 constituencies.

The declaration hands Hichilema a fresh five-year mandate to finish Zambia's debt restructuring and settle a successor to its International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme — and it lands with the opposition rejecting the count and alleging the vote was altered.

The result

ECZ chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis read the final tally at the National Totalling Centre in Lusaka in the early hours of Tuesday, once all 226 constituencies had reported. Hichilema, of the United Party for National Development (UPND), took 2,965,326 votes — about 61 per cent of the valid vote. Brian Mundubile, the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance candidate on the National Reconciliation Party for Unity and Prosperity (NRPUP) ticket, took 1,856,217, or about 38 per cent.

I therefore declare Hichilema Hakainde S to be president-elect of the Republic of Zambia this 18th day of August, 2026.

— ECZ chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis, <a href="https://www.elections.org.zm/">National Totalling Centre declaration</a>, Lusaka, 18 August 2026

The margin — 1,109,109 votes — carried Hichilema past the 50-per-cent-plus-one share a candidate needs to take Zambia's presidency outright, so there is no run-off. No one else in the field came close: the top two took almost the entire valid vote between them. Kwacha News set out the full ballot in its look at the 14-candidate field before the vote.

Turnout fell sharply

About 5.03 million of the 8,786,300 registered voters cast ballots, a turnout of roughly 57 per cent on the commission's figures. That is well down on the near-70-per-cent turnout at the 2021 election that first carried Hichilema to power, when Hichilema beat the late Edgar Lungu with about 59 per cent of the vote. Thursday's poll — Zambians voted on 13 August for president, parliament and local councils — was the first general election under the 2025 constitutional amendments that enlarged the elected National Assembly to 226 seats.

The opposition rejects the count

Mundubile and the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance rejected the result. In the days before the declaration, Mundubile alleged the possible alteration of result forms from polling stations and called for an urgent independent investigation, and the alliance described an uneven political environment through the campaign. Hichilema, who had appealed for patience while the tally was completed, has a second term; Mundubile says the count was not clean.

The declaration closed a violent week. Authorities raided Mundubile's Lusaka home days earlier, arresting 11 people, including opposition figures; gunfire during the raid wounded a member of parliament. The government said the operation targeted militia activity, an account the opposition disputes. The commission had also suspended totalling for a day on 14 August, citing attacks on election staff and the theft of marked ballots, before counting resumed.

The European Union Election Observation Mission said candidates had been able to campaign but flagged campaign-related violence, political intimidation and concerns about the media environment.

What Hichilema inherits

The second term opens on an economy still working through a landmark debt restructuring and negotiating the shape of a successor arrangement with the IMF. A clean, accepted result steadies the kwacha and the reform timetable; a drawn-out court fight would cloud both. Kwacha News mapped that policy horizon in its look at the post-vote IMF pivot.

Hichilema's route back to State House ran through a reshaped opposition. The death of Edgar Lungu in June 2025, and the burial row that followed, pushed the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance to consolidate behind Mundubile, the Patriotic Front's former leader of the opposition in the National Assembly — the contest that made this a two-horse race.

What to watch

Any challenge goes to the Constitutional Court, which the constitution gives 14 days to hear a presidential petition. Mundubile's alliance has rejected the count but had not, by the declaration, filed a petition; whether the alliance does, and how quickly the court moves, is the next decision point. Kwacha News reported before the vote on how the judiciary prepared for poll disputes, part of the newsroom's politics coverage.

For markets and the Ministry of Finance, the question now is speed. A swift, accepted outcome clears the way for the IMF talks and the next budget. A contested one does not.

Frequently Asked Questions

These are the questions readers have been asking since the Electoral Commission of Zambia declared the 2026 result. Short answers follow, drawn from the commission's official figures and the declaration at the National Totalling Centre.

Who won Zambia’s 2026 presidential election?

In short, President Hakainde Hichilema won a second term. The official ECZ results show Hichilema took 2,965,326 votes — about 61 per cent of the valid vote — to Brian Mundubile's 1,856,217. The answer is a first-round win: the margin of 1,109,109 votes cleared the 50-per-cent threshold, so there is no run-off.

What were the margin and turnout in the 2026 election?

Simply put, Hichilema beat Mundubile by 1,109,109 votes. Data from the commission shows about 5.03 million of the 8,786,300 registered voters cast ballots — a turnout of roughly 57 per cent, down from close to 70 per cent in 2021.

Why did the vote count take five days?

The key is a suspension. According to ECZ chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis, the commission halted totalling for a day on 14 August after violence targeted poll staff and, in some cases, marked ballots were stolen. Counting resumed and ran to a full declaration across all 226 constituencies on 18 August.

Is the opposition challenging the result?

Mundubile and the Tonse-Pamodzi Alliance rejected the count and alleged the possible alteration of result forms. In other words, the dispute is live: any formal challenge would go to the Constitutional Court, which the constitution gives 14 days to hear a presidential petition. Evidence filed there, not a televised claim, is what can change a declared result.

How does Zambia decide the presidential winner?

The answer is the 50-per-cent-plus-one rule. A candidate must take more than half of all valid votes cast nationwide to win outright; otherwise the top two go to a run-off. The official count shows Hichilema cleared that bar comfortably, which is why the commission declared a winner without a second round.

Sources

Electoral Commission of Zambia: official 2026 results portal and commission statements and the declaration. International coverage of the declaration and the opposition response: Al Jazeera. Kwacha News: polling-day report, the 14-candidate field, the post-vote IMF pivot and how the courts prepared for disputes.