EU IS RIGHT
…report confirms election was a sham – Mwenda
By Adrian Mwanza
THE European Union (EU) Observer Mission’s final report has vindicated the opposition that Zambia’s August 13 election was a sham, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) president Kasonde Mwenda has said.
Commenting on the EU-OM report released on Tuesday to the public, Mwenda said the report exposed various illegalities before, during and after the elections.
He said the most troubling example was the failure by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to publish the final results of the elections.
“The EU has vindicated our claims that these elections were not free and fair because there’re so many discrepancies that were raised,” Mwenda said.
He said the report clearly showed that President Hakainde Hichilema did not outright win the elections.
The six-hour suspension of counting of votes and announcement of the results was another illegality the report exposed.
Mwenda said the opposition remained shocked that in Solwezi Central Constituency, Hichilema got over 50,000 votes in an area where only 29,000 voters had registered to vote in that election.
He said such discrepancies were the issues that made former Botswana president Ian Kharma spoke out.
“ECZ has failed to prove that Mr Hichilema won the elections because they have failed to produce the final and consolidated results which is an indictment on the part of ECZ and government because they even stopped the election petition,” Mwenda said.
Mwenda said failure to publicly show the results showed blatant rigging of election results by those in power in collusion with those managing the electoral process.
He urged Hichilema to step aside and call for fresh elections.
“The report has just highlighted the various concerns we raised concerning the legality of the elections,” he said.
The EU-OM released its final report on the general election of August 13, 2026 in which it has noted serious shortcomings and violations in the management of the campaign and the aftermath of the voting.
