Zambia’s opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema has defeated incumbent president Edgar Lungu by almost one million votes.
In a video announcement on its official Facebook page early Monday morning, monitored from Washington, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) declared Hichilema president-elect.
According to the ECZ, Hichilema got 2,810,757 votes while Lungu amassed 1,814,201. The third presidential candidate received just over 24,000 votes.
Hichilema beat Lungu by 996,556 votes to reach the required threshold to become president of Zambia.
Thirteen other candidates failed to get 20,000 votes each.
The ECZ declared results of 155 out of 156 constituencies, leaving out Mandevu, whose results were withheld for unexplained reasons.