The official results of the 2016 Zambia election report that President Edgar Lunga of the Patriotic Front party was re-elected in a closely contested vote. President Lungu received 100,530 more ballots than his main challenger, Hakainde Hichilema of the opposition United Party for National Development, and skirted a runoff election by receiving just over 50% of the votes. Security forces have increased in order to prevent contentions from taking to the streets, and Zambians are being encouraged to take their complaints to the courts.
90% of polling stations during the elections, which were held last Thursday, opened around 6:30am. Voting continued into the night, with certain stations remaining open by flashlight until 2am due to the high volume of voters. The Christian Churches Monitoring Group (CCMG) closely observed and reported outcomes using the Apollo DemTool from NDItech. Great minds from the TimbaObjects Technologies team in combination with CCMG and top leaders from NDI collaborated to both literally and figuratively fuel power towards election efforts. From assisting voters to analyzing incoming data and constructing impressive and informative visualizations, members worked nonstop to ensure that the decision announced was one made by Zambia.
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