Politics · Zambia election haltedZambia's Entire Vote Count Halted and Restarted in One DayAired August 16, 2026 at 3:07 AM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Zambia's Electoral Commission resumed0:02counting presidential and parliamentary0:03votes [music] Friday after ordering an0:05unprecedented nationwide suspension the0:07same day saying alleged attacks on0:10polling staff and theft of marked0:11ballots, ballot papers, and ballot boxes0:14forced the halt and that the security0:15threat is now contained. The suspension0:18and the resumption both happened on0:19Friday, August 15th with results0:22reported as due on Monday. [music]0:24The count restarted under riot police0:26and army deployment described as0:27heightened security. The security0:29justification collides [music] directly0:31with questions about its credibility.0:33Voting had been described as peaceful.0:35Polling stations were already guarded by0:37police and the military and no law is0:39said to empower a national suspension of0:40counting. The race includes 140:42presidential candidates but is framed0:44around incumbent President Hakainde0:46Hichilema seeking a second term against0:48challenger Brian Mundubile. Analyst0:50Sishuwa [music] Sishuwa says a0:52nationwide suspension is unprecedented0:54since the Electoral Commission became an0:55independent body in 1996. [music]0:58A view echoed by concerns raised by the0:59Law Association of Zambia. What remains1:02unresolved is what evidence, locations,1:04[music] and scale support the alleged1:05attacks and thefts, what legal authority1:08the Commission cites for a nationwide1:09halt, [music] and what safeguards and1:11independent observation are in place for1:12the resumed count and for results1:14expected [music] Monday. The account so1:16far rests on a single bulletin published1:18August 15th and has not yet been1:19independently confirmed. At [music]1:21stake is public trust in who governs1:23next. The halted and restarted count1:25unfolds against broader pressures1:27including warnings about restrictions on1:28assembly and speech and a campaign1:30fought over cost of living, corruption,1:32and mining including allegations of1:33mining sector financing raising the1:35stakes for whether votes are fairly1:36counted and freely contested.1:38Like and follow for more stories that1:40matter.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗