Zambia vote counting suspended then restarted amid security threats

Vote counting in Zambia's presidential election was suspended on Friday, August 14, 2026, and then restarted hours later under heightened security after the electoral commission reported attacks against polling station officials and the theft of ballot papers. The disruption, which saw riot police and army vehicles deploy to parts of the capital, Lusaka, marked an unusual development for a country that has maintained largely peaceful elections since its return to multiparty democracy in 1991.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia announced the suspension on Friday, stating that violence was targeted at poll staff and had resulted in the theft of marked ballot papers from ballot boxes. The commission did not immediately identify those responsible. Following a review of the security situation, commission chairperson Mwangala Zaloumis later announced that counting had resumed. "The security threat to the electoral process has been contained," she said at a press briefing, adding that the violence had affected a small number of polling stations in Lusaka. The commission indicated that the first set of results would be announced later on Friday and urged all candidates to desist from...