Vote counting suspended then restarted under heightened security in Zambia election

LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) -- Vote counting in Zambia's presidential election was suspended Friday and then restarted hours later under heightened security after the electoral commission said there had been attacks against some polling station officials and some ballot papers had been stolen. While the counting was suspended, riot police and army vehicles deployed to parts of the capital, Lusaka, including the main vote tallying center, though there were no immediate reports of any major unrest. It was an unusual development for the southern African country of 22 million people, which has held largely peaceful elections since it returned to multiparty democracy in 1991. "The violence is targeted at poll staff and in some instances has resulted in the theft of marked ballot papers in ballot boxes," the Electoral Commission of Zambia said in a statement announcing vote counting had been halted. It did not say who was responsible for the violence or the alleged theft of ballot papers. Electoral commission head Mwangala Zaloumis later announced counting would start again and said the violence affected a small number of polling stations in Lusaka. "Following a review of the security situation and consultations with the relevant law enforcement agencies, I'm pleased to inform you and to inform the nation that the security threat to the electoral process has been contained," she said at a press briefing. The main opposition candidate said his alliance of parties had "received deeply troubling reports from several parts of the country" and called into question the credibility of the vote. Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema, who ran for a second five-year term, called for Zambians to "remain peaceful, patient and patriotic as we await the official outcome from those entrusted with managing the vote" in a statement on X. Thursday's election was seen as a test of Hichilema's economic recovery plan after the copper-rich nation was plunged into a debt crisis in 2020. Hichilema, 64, was one of 14 candidates in the presidential election, but his biggest challenge was thought to come from Brian Mundubile, a 55-year-old law graduate who emerged this year as the leader of an opposition alliance. On Friday, Mundubile said the suspension of the vote counting could lead to "an opportunity for interference with or manipulation of the results." "Put the records before the nation and allow every number to be reconciled. The people of Zambia voted. Their decision must be respected," he said. Mundubile said he had received information that members of the military had taken control of vote counting stations in at least one town and boxes containing ballots had been taken away from stations in other places, though he did not provide any evidence for those claims in a statement he made on video. However, there was some criticism of Hichilema ahead of this election by the opposition and independent rights groups, which said his government was squeezing dissent. Mundubile's alliance accused the government of being behind a law enforcement agency raid on its offices days before the election and claimed the action was designed to hurt the alliance's campaign.