Lungu narrowly wins Zambian presidential vote

The Electoral Commission of Zambia announced on Saturday that Edgar Lungu of the ruling Patriotic Front had won this week's election with 48.3 percent of the votes. Hakainde Hichilema, a wealthy economist from the opposition United Party for National Development finished second with 46.7 percent. There were also nine other candidates, each of whom received a negligible share of the vote.

Turnout for the election, which stretched from Tuesday until Thursday, was low at just 32 percent, in part due to heavy rains.

Shortly after the result was announced, Hichilema cried foul, accusing the Electoral Commission of manipulating the results to ensure victory for Lungu.

"The stolen election does not reflect the will of the people of Zambia," Hichilema said. "If Edgar Lungu is sworn in, he should know that he is an illegitimate president."

Prior to the announcement of the results, Hichelema also complained of "widespread violence against our supporters and party members throughout the campaign, as well as deep irregularities in the counting process."

Shortened term in office

Lungu will now serve out the remainder of the term of the late former president, Michael Sata, which ends with next year's regularly scheduled presidential election.

Sata died at the age of 77 while in office last October, following a long illness. He was replaced on an interim basis by his former vice president, Guy Scott, the country's first white leader in two decades. Scott was not eligible to run in Tuesday's presidential election as his parents were not born in Zambia.

Lungu's campaign focused on mobilizing the grassroots support that brought Sata, also of the Patriotic Front, to power in the 2011 presidential election.

Hichilema had pledged to use his experience in the private sector to attract foreign investment and diversify the Zambian economy, in which copper accounts for 70 percent of its export earnings.

pfd/bk (Reuters, AFP, AP)