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Zambia's Hichilema re-elected president as main rival in hiding over alleged threats
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Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema has been re-elected for a second five-year term after securing a 60% share of the vote, the electoral commission has announced.Hichilema's win was widely expected, with his closest challenger Brian Mundubile getting 38% of the votes cast. The remaining 12 candidates trailed far behind.Mundubile, 55, has said he will mount a legal challenge to the results, saying his NRPUP party had evidence that there were voting irregularities.Earlier, the party confirmed to the BBC that Mundubile had gone into hiding in a "secure location under the protection of an international human rights body due to threats made against him".Local media had reported that Mundubile and his running mate Makebi Zulu were at a UN agency in the capital, Lusaka, fearing arrests.It came after some leading opposition figures were arrested in a raid on Friday who the authorities accused of plotting an insurrection. Mundubile called the claim a fabrication. In a statement, Mundubile said the results were not "a true reflection of what took place across this election"."We have evidence. We have records. We have documented what we could as events unfolded. We will now place that evidence before the appropriate legal institutions and pursue every lawful avenue available to us within the prescribed period," he said.After being declared the winner, Hichilema, 64, said in a statement: "We are truly humbled by the trust you have placed in our hands."He said the election showed that Zambia was a place of peace, law and order and a "democratic nation that settles our differences at the ballot box, and nowhere else"."To those citizens who preferred the ideas presented by our opponents, we hear you, and we will continue to work for you," he added.Hundreds of Hichilema's supporters, dressed in the red colours of his United Party for National Development (UPND) flooded the streets of the capital to celebrate after the results declaration.Zambia has a record of peaceful transfers of power. Since the return to multiparty democracy in 1991, presidential transitions have occurred through the ballot box.In his statement on Tuesday, Mundubile rejected government allegations linking the NRPUP or people associated with it to any form of insurgency or threat to state security."We reject those allegations absolutely. Our campaign was built on two words: hope and peace."He stressed he was not calling for violence or retaliation: "I ask every supporter of our party… to remain calm. Do not allow anger to destroy what we have built."He repeated allegations about a raid on his home in Lusaka, saying armed men entered the property, shots were fired, and former minister Mutotwe Kafwaya was shot in his presence. Kafwaya was still missing and his family had received no adequate explanation of his whereabouts or condition, Mundubile said"A man was shot. That man is now missing. His family deserves answers. Zambia deserves answers."On Monday he had described to the BBC how armed personnel had knocked down the gate of his home with an armoured vehicle, broke doors and windows and opened fire."They came in to kill us," he said.He denied allegations that high-grade military weapons were being stored at the house as well as the presence of any militia as the authorities had alleged. Mulambo Haimbe, Hichilema's election agent and a senior UPND member, said Mundubile's remarks regarding the incident were "not correct".He told the BBC's Newsday programme on Tuesday that criminal charges were being put forward against those arrested.He also said the courts would address the various matters should the opposition party challenge the election outcome.A day after polling, the electoral commission briefly suspended counting and the announcement of results, citing reports of violence targeting polling staff and the theft of marked ballot papers in some areas.The suspension was lifted the same day.Regional and international observers described the election day as largely pea
Security forces in Zambia have seized weapons and arrested 11 people, including senior opposition figures, allegedly involved in an insurrection plot, the government has said.The leading opposition candidate in last Thursday's presidential election, Brian Mundubile, was also found at the scene of the raid in the capital, Lusaka, according to the country's top civil servant Patrick Kangwa.Mundubile described Friday night's raid as "an attempt on my life" adding that "colleagues were shot" in his presence.With results from more than half of the constituencies, he is trailing incumbent Hakainde Hichilema. Mundubile had earlier claimed victory and alleged there were voting irregularities.But he has not provided detailed evidence of these or of who was shot on Friday. In fact, tangible evidence to back up accusations made by the opposition, government and the electoral commission in the wake of Thursday's vote has been lacking.The authorities denied the claims of vote rigging and in preliminary statements observers described election day as largely peaceful and orderly.They did however raise concerns about late electoral reforms, media freedom and access to the media in the run-up to the poll.Giving more details about the raid, Kangwa said the individuals arrested were connected to "military plans involving foreign nationals and illegal military training camps". He added that they posed "a serious threat to state security" and held "high-grade military weapons", ammunition and other materials intended for use in an armed insurrection. He alleged that shots were fired at law enforcement officers leading to an exchange of fire.Among those arrested were Patrick Mwansa, the husband of Tasila Lungu, the daughter of former Zambian President Edgar Lungu, and other politicians.The suspects are being held in custody at various police stations in Lusaka.The mood remains stable as Zambians await the full results of the election, although some uncertainty has emerged following the government's announcement of the raid.However, there is a heightened security police presence in some parts of the capital.Mundubile had made a series of allegations about the electoral process, including reports of military involvement at tallying centres and irregularities involving ballot boxes.He later said he was being interrogated by Zambian army officers over two videos he released and alleged he had been assaulted while in custody, which authorities denied.He also accused Tanzania of sending individuals to interfere in the election, an allegation the Tanzanian government firmly rejected as false and unfounded.Zambia's electoral commission briefly suspended the counting and announcement of results on Friday, citing violence against polling staff and theft of marked ballot papers.It lifted the suspension the same day, saying the security threat had been contained.Both the European Union (EU) and the southern African (Sadc) observer missions have since expressed concern over the suspension of the vote counting.On Saturday, Sadc said it had created "uncertainty and anxiety" while the EU mission said any such interruption should be clearly explained, legally grounded and proportionate.The EU mission's chief observer Michael McNamara said the elections took place "against a backdrop of constrained democratic space".He said even though the elections were "genuinely competitive" the conditions in which the candidates competed were "uneven".He cited the blurring of lines between state and the party, including state media coverage being "heavily biased" to favour the ruling party."It is important that the remaining stages of the process are conducted calmly, transparently, and in full accordance with Zambian law and the procedures in place."
A photo of the exterior of the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in June. For months, a tarp has covered the arts complex's facade, ever since a federal judge ruled that President Trump's name was unlawfully added to the center. Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images On Thursday, the board of the Kennedy Center voted a second time to shut down most of the Washington, D.C., arts complex for what is being described as a two-year major renovation plan, according to a person briefed on the vote. In March, the center's board approved a full shutdown of the complex for major renovations, but a federal judge later ruled to temporarily block the planned closure, saying that no board members had "sufficient information" to make such a decision. In a test of both the same judge's previous ruling and a related appeals court ruling, the board also voted on Thursday to put President Trump's name back on the center's entry, calling the complex, "Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump." In this most recent vote, the board elected to close the center's main building, while keeping The REACH, a 2019 addition, open for limited programming and as a memorial to the late President John F. Kennedy. According to the plan approved by the board, the $250 million project includes structural repairs, new marble floors, nearly $12 million in "acoustical improvements" and a plan to temporarily move the famed, eight-foot, bronze bust of Kennedy that sits in the center's main foyer. Under this plan, the main campus would reopen in the summer of 2028. The details of the proposal and the potential name change were first reported by The New York Times. The individual who was briefed on the vote spoke to NPR on the condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The board's decisions will be subject to the federal judge's approval. Thursday's board meeting was held by Zoom, and was not public. In the days leading up to Thursday's vote, Democratic legislators who serve as ex-officio Kennedy Center trustees told the Washington Post that they had still not been given access to any assessments of what such a closure would mean for the long-term wellbeing of the institution. The arts complex is chaired by President Trump, and the majority of its current board are Trump allies appointed by the president. NPR has requested comment from the Kennedy Center, but did not receive an immediate reply. It is unclear whether or not the construction management firm named in the plans, JLL, has any experience with arts venues that feature unamplified performances, such as the orchestras, solo and chamber instrumentalists, opera companies and dance ensembles that have comprised much of the Kennedy Center's programming for decades. It is unclear how many companies bid on the contract, or how the firm was selected. Last December, one of the center's ex-officio board members, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, filed a federal lawsuit against Trump and the board to reverse the center's name change and halt the renovation plans. In March, a group of eight architecture and culture groups filed a separate suit to block the renovation. In May, the judge in the Beatty suit temporarily blocked the Trump closure plan. Judge Christopher Cooper wrote: "None of the board members had sufficient information in advance of the March 16 meeting to make a well-considered decision to close the center." In a statement emailed to NPR Thursday afternoon, Rep. Beatty said: "This morning's decision to close the center and the surprise agenda item to put Donald Trump's name back on the building was more of the same. This latest development is a transparent effort to circumvent the court's ruling, and flies in the face of the statutes that Congress passed. I will continue to fight for this treasured national monument." In February, Trump wrote on Truth Social that there had been "a one year revie
"Zambians are frustrated and this election is a 50-50, that is why we are all here early to make the change," he told the AFP news agency."I voted for HH because he cares about us," James Phiri, a 29-year-old student at the University of Zambia, told the Reuters news agency, using a common nickname for the president."Things are better after he re-introduced meal allowances," he said.Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesSamuel Chitendwe, a 47-year-old welder and father of four, said he voted for Mundubile."I have just come from firing someone. We are tired of stories about economic progress," he told Reuters.A presidential candidate needs more than 50% to win outright or face a run-off, which must be held within 37 days.
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