By: Ollus Ndomu
Zambia’s Thursday ballot has put the ruling Patriotic Front -PF- and its presidential candidate, Republican President Edgar Lungu under pressure following an early lead by the opposition in cosmopolitan cities.
Lungu who on Wednesday said he would not accept electoral defeat in an unfavorable turn events has alleged vote fraud in opposition strongholds in addition to beefing up army presence to curb electoral violence against government aligned electoral agents.
Following the president’s repeated disclosure that he would win the presidential ballot by 500, 000 votes, there has been a growing public mistrust in the country’s electoral commission with citizens beating and murdering officials believed to be scheming a possible vote manipulation.
In Northern-Western province, ruling party Chairman, Jackson Kungo was beaten to death on allegations that he attempted to sneak pre-marked ballot papers into the polling station on Thursday afternoon.
Across the country, there have been citizen arrests of perceived vote rigging agents, with some caught red-handed with pre-marked ballot papers.
The electoral commission has remained silent on the issue of pre-marked ballot papers despite several arrests and beatings of ruling party politicians.
Meanwhile, some verified election results from PF strongholds have signalled a possible opposition victory as margins between Lungu and his closest rival, Hakainde Hichilema, have further slimmed compared to the last 2016 presidential vote.
International election observer missions have urged presidential candidates to accept the election outcome adding that democracy determines the winner through a majority vote.
The situation remains relatively calm in rural areas but a bit volatile in urban areas as government suspended social media amid the ongoing vote count.
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