Zambia's Hichilema leads presidential vote count

LUSAKA, Aug 16 - Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema was well ahead in counting for national elections on Sunday with nearly half the constituencies declared, the electoral commission said.

Hichilema had 54.82% or 1,056,812 of the declared votes, figures showed, putting him on track for re-election without a second-round runoff if he keeps the overall majority.

His main challenger, Brian Mundubile, was in second place with 43% or 830,841 of the declared votes, with 105 out of 226 constituencies announced by around 1500 GMT.

The presidential vote — held alongside parliamentary and local elections on Thursday — is seen as a test of whether Hichilema's economic gains since a pandemic-era debt crisis are enough to win him a second term in Africa's second-largest copper producer after the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia temporarily halted vote counting on Friday, citing violence against officials and the theft of ballot papers.

Zambia's police have denied a report by opposition leader Mundubile's camp that he was arrested and detained.

If no presidential candidate gets at least 50%, a second-round vote will take place within 37 days of the initial poll. REUTERS