Zambia suspends vote counting in election over reports of violence and the theft of ballot papers

LUSAKA, Zambia -- Vote counting in Zambia's presidential election was suspended by the electoral authority Friday over reports of attacks on polling officials and the theft of some ballot papers. The Electoral Commission of Zambia said it was suspending the counting immediately "in view of the security situation and continued threats of violence." It did not say who might be responsible for the alleged theft. The commission said it would review the decision in 24 hours. Meanwhile, the main opposition leader, Brian Mundubile, claimed victory and said the delay could lead to "an opportunity for interference with or manipulation of the results." 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. He did not provide any evidence for that claim. There was no sign of any unrest in the capital, Lusaka. Zambia, a former British colony, has held largely peaceful elections since it returned to a multiparty democracy in 1991, but there was some criticism of President Hakainde Hichilema ahead of Thursday's election by the opposition and independent rights groups, which said his government was squeezing dissent. Mundubile's alliance had 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 election campaign.