Zambia's Hichilema re-elected president as main rival in hiding over alleged threats

BREAKING: Zambia's Hakainde Hichilema re-elected president with 60% of the vote, as his main rival Brian Mundubile goes into hiding over alleged threats. Hichilema says he is 'truly humbled' by the victory.

Zambia's president won re-election with 60 percent, and his main rival is hiding at a UN agency.

Hakainde Hichilema takes a second five year term, and his supporters flooded Lusaka in party red to celebrate, you can see the scenes here.

But the other half of this story is darker. Brian Mundubile, who took 38 percent, claimed victory first, alleged irregularities without evidence, and then vanished into what his party calls a secure location under international human rights protection. Local media say he and his running mate fled to a UN agency in Lusaka, fearing arrest. This follows a Friday raid on his home, where he says armed personnel smashed the gate with an armoured vehicle and opened fire. The government says he was storing military weapons. He says they came to kill him.

Hichilema calls Zambia a democracy that settles differences at the ballot box, and nowhere else. His closest rival, right now, doesn't feel safe enough to test that.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.

Source Read the original reporting at bbc.co.uk