Observers are concerned that President Edgar Lungu will use violent incidents to justify a clampdown and an invalidation of election results in opposition strongholds.
Zambian President Edgar Lungu has ordered the army to step up its presence in three provinces where he accused opposition parties of turning the country’s elections into a “war” after two prominent members of his party were murdered.
The Patriotic Front’s leader in the North Western Province, Jackson Kungo, as well as Emmanuel Chihili, the brother of another leader, were allegedly murdered on Thursday as thousands of Zambians came out to vote.
In a statement marked “very urgent” late on Thursday, Lungu said the “mayhem” in this province as well as in “parts of Western, Southern provinces” has “effectively rendered the elections in the three provinces not free and fair”.
Lungu did not say what the suspected motive for the alleged murders were, but he blamed supporters of the United Party for National Development and its presidential candidate, Hakainde Hichilema.
“How can you talk about free and fair elections when our opponents have taken this election as war?” he said. “When people say elections were not free and fair, they accuse the ruling party, but look…