Zambian opposition candidate leads vote, supporters celebrate ahead of final result
Supporters of the Zambian UPND opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema celebrate following a majority lead in the preliminary results of the presidential election.
Business tycoon Hakainde Hichilema on Sunday looked to be on the cusp of winning a hotly-contested presidential as final votes were counted.
With 128 of 156 constituencies reporting, official results showed Hichilema on 2,324,847 votes, or 82 percent of the constituencies counted so far, ahead of Lungu who had 1,464,681 votes.
Final results should be released by early Monday at the latest.
This is the sixth time opposition politician Hichilema, who is 59, has run for the top job and the third time he has challenged 64-year-old President Edgar Lungu.
Lungu who has been in office for six years faced the electorate amid growing resentment about rising living costs and crackdowns on dissent in the southern African country.
Hichilema enjoyed the backing of 10 opposition parties at Thursday's vote under the banner of the largest opposition United Party for National Development (UPND).
The incumbent has cried foul before a winner is declared, claiming the election was neither free nor fair due to incidents of violence reported in what are traditionally Hichilema's stronghold.
