Veteran Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema appears
on the verge of clinching the southern African country’s presidency, with a
commanding lead in votes.
The 59-year old businessman, contesting the presidency for
the sixth time, has more than 2.3 million votes to President Edgar Lungu’s 1.4
million votes, according to results announced by the Electoral Commission of
Zambia.
Mr Hichilema narrowly lost two previous elections to Mr
Lungu in 2015 and 2016. Mr Lungu won by a margin of just 100,000 votes in 2016.
The winner of the election held Thursday must garner more
than 50% of the votes cast to avoid a second round of voting and Mr Hichilema
appears close to the 2.5 million estimated to be more than half of those who
voted.
The electoral commission has announced results for more
than 100 of the country’s 156 constituencies.
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