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Zambia resumes election vote count after disruptions

Deutsche Welle · 🇩🇪 public Germany · · 403 words · By Richard Connor; Louis Oelofse
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What to know about Zambia resumes election vote count after disruptions

Zambia resumes election vote count after disruptions August 14, 2026 Vote counting resumed in Zambia late on Friday after it was suspended amid reports of violence against officials and the theft of ballot papers.

Claims checked 12
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center67%
Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Zambia resumes election vote count after disruptions August 14, 2026 Vote counting resumed in Zambia late on Friday after it was suspended amid reports of violence against officials and the theft of ballot papers.

Why it matters

"I am pleased to inform the nation that the security threat to the electoral process has been contained and that the necessary measures have been put in place to enable the process to continue," Electoral Commission of Zambia Chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis…

Common ground

President Hakainde Hichilema is running for a second term in the southern African copper producer and is widely seen as having an advantage over opposition leader and first-time presidential candidate Brian Mundubile.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dw.com/en/zambia-vote-count-resumes-after-suspension-amid-reports-of…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
schedule Pending 2
verified Verified By Reference 2
info Single Source 1
help Insufficient Evidence 1
verified Verified 1
info
Claim 1: “opposition leader and first-time presidential candidate Brian Mundubile”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim is mentioned in the Sowetan cross-reference, but other web searches for 'Brian Mundubile' did not yield corroborating biographical information or confirmation of his candidacy.
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web search NEUTRAL — Toggle the table of contents Brian
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian
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web search NEUTRAL — Toggle the table of contents Brian Griffin
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Griffin
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web search NEUTRAL — May 26, 2026 · It was borne by the Irish king Brian Boru, who thwarted Viking attempts to conquer Ireland in the 11th century. He was slain in the Battle of Clontarf, though his forces were decisively…
https://www.behindthename.com/name/brian
+ 1 more evidence source
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Claim 2: “It said that ballot papers had been stolen in some locations”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the Electoral Commission reported the theft of ballot papers as a reason for the suspension of counting.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Assembly is Zambia's unicameral legislative body. Between 1972 and 1990, Zambia was a one-party state with the United National Independence Party (UNIP) as the sole legal party. The curre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Assembly_of_Zambia
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elections in Zambia take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. The President and National Assembly are simultaneously elected for five-year terms.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Zambia
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — General elections were held in Zambia on 13 August 2026 to elect a president, members of the National Assembly, councillors and council chairs. In the presidential election, incumbent president Hakain…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Zambian_general_election
+ 3 more evidence sources
help
Claim 3: “European Union observers were monitoring the election.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding European Union observers.
schedule
Claim 4: “Mundubile leading an opposition alliance backed by many of the former president's supporters.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 5: “The Electoral Commission earlier suspended vote counting after incidents of violence targeting polling staff.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources explicitly state that the Electoral Commission suspended vote counting due to violence targeting polling staff.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — General elections were held in Zambia on 13 August 2026 to elect a president, members of the National Assembly, councillors and council chairs. In the presidential election, incumbent president Hakain…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Zambian_general_election
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elections in Zambia take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. The President and National Assembly are simultaneously elected for five-year terms.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Zambia
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Assembly is Zambia's unicameral legislative body. Between 1972 and 1990, Zambia was a one-party state with the United National Independence Party (UNIP) as the sole legal party. The curre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Assembly_of_Zambia
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 6: “Mwangala Zaloumis is the Electoral Commission of Zambia Chairperson.”
VERIFIED
Confirmed by the Electoral Commission of Zambia's own website and reported by the Sowetan as the commission chairperson.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Chawama National Assembly by-election was held on 15 January 2026 to elect a Member of Parliament for the Chawama Constituency in the Lusaka District of Zambia. The by-election was won by Nundwe B…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Chawama_by-election
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web search NEUTRAL — Chairpeson of the Electoral Commission of Zambia, Mrs Mwangala Zaloumis has a strong background...
https://www.elections.org.zm/?page_id=2360
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web search NEUTRAL — The Electoral Commission of Zambia is scheduled for various stakeholder engagements to enhance understanding of the electoral process.The District Electoral Officers urged aspiring political parties t…
https://www.petaukecouncil.gov.zm/?p=2424
+ 2 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 7: “President Hakainde Hichilema is running for a second term”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and multiple news sources confirm Hakainde Hichilema was the incumbent president seeking a second term in the August 2026 election.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — General elections were held in Zambia on 13 August 2026 to elect a president, members of the National Assembly, councillors and council chairs. In the presidential election, incumbent president Hakain…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Zambian_general_election
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hakainde Hichilema (born 4 June 1962), often known by his initials HH and the nickname "Bally", is a Zambian businessman, farmer, and politician who is the seventh and current president of Zambia sinc…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakainde_Hichilema
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The presidency of Hakainde Hichilema began on 24 August 2021, when he was inaugurated as the seventh President of Zambia, and is still ongoing. Hichilema took office following his electoral victory ov…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Hakainde_Hichile…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 8: “Hichilema came to power in 2021 after defeating longtime rival Edgar Lungu”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms Hakainde Hichilema became president on 24 August 2021 after an electoral victory over President Edgar Lungu.
schedule
Claim 9: “Edgar Lungu, who served as president from 2015 to 2021 and died in 2025.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 10: “Around 8 million people were registered to vote in the southern African country of about 22 million people.”
CORROBORATED
Al Jazeera reports about 8.7 million registered voters in a country of 22 million; Ecofin Agency reports nearly 8.8 million; WPSD Local 6 reports about 8 million.
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web search NEUTRAL — Nearly 8.8 million Zambians were registered to vote Thursday in an election widely seen as a referendum on President Hakainde Hichilema’s economic record.
https://www.ecofinagency.com/news-finances/1308-58126-zambia…
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web search NEUTRAL — About 8.7 million people were registered to vote in Zambia, a country of 22 million that is rich in copper reserves, with a long history of peaceful transfers of power.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/16/observers-say-zambi…
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web search NEUTRAL — About 8 million people were registered to vote at more than 13,500 polling stations. Final results were expected by Monday, according to the electoral commission.
https://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/vote-counting-suspended-then…
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Claim 11: “Voters were also choosing members of parliament and local councillors at more than 13,500 polling stations.”
CORROBORATED
Yahoo and WPSD Local 6 both confirm the number of polling stations as more than 13,500 and the election of MPs and councillors.
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web search NEUTRAL — On Thursday, August 13, millions of Zambians will go to polling stations to elect a President, Members of Parliament, Mayors or Council Chairpersons and Ward Councillors.
https://zambianobserver.com/what-to-expect-inside-the-pollin…
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web search NEUTRAL — Voters were also choosing members of Parliament and local government councilors.Separately, a local election observer said poor voter direction, confusion over voter rolls and crowd management issues …
https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/2026/08/12/zambia-vo…
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web search NEUTRAL — Zambians also cast ballots for members of Parliament and local government councillors. Around 8 million people in the country of 22 million were registered to vote at more than 13,500 polling stations…
https://nz.news.yahoo.com/zambia-election-chaos-erupts-vote-…
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Claim 12: “Vote counting resumed in Zambia late on Friday after it was suspended amid reports of violence against officials and the theft of ballot papers.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (Sowetan, TSR, and other web results) confirm that vote counting was suspended due to violence and ballot theft and then resumed on Friday, August 14, 2026.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following events occurred in August 1978:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_1978
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — General elections were held in Zambia on 13 August 2026 to elect a president, members of the National Assembly, councillors and council chairs. In the presidential election, incumbent president Hakain…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Zambian_general_election
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Events in the year 2026 in Zambia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in_Zambia
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.