VOTE BRIEF | NRPUP Calls for Halt to Presidential Results, Demands Gen-20 Reconciliation
NRPUP running mate Makebi Zulu has called on the Electoral Commission of Zambia to suspend further presidential result announcements and conduct a polling-station-by-polling-station reconciliation, alleging irregularities in the national tally.
Speaking in an online broadcast, Zulu named Matero, Kalulushi, Bwanamkubwa, Chawama, Kabwata and Kanyama among constituencies where the opposition says concerns have emerged. He cited alleged missing or stolen Gen-20 forms, security interference, intimidation of electoral officials and differences between figures held by party agents and those entering the tallying process.
“When an agent identifies a discrepancy between figures being presented by ECZ and the Gen-20 forms in that agent’s possession, prudence requires that the process pause,” Zulu said. He wants original electoral records examined and reconciled before disputed figures proceed.
Zulu also questioned reported turnout figures from Southern Province, alleging inflation and asking ECZ to release polling-station-level data for independent comparison.
No documentary evidence establishing inflated turnout was presented in the material reviewed by The People’s Brief, and the allegation remains unverified.
The opposition running mate also criticised conditions at the national tally centre at Mulungushi International Conference Centre, alleging some party agents had faced threats of losing accreditation after raising objections.
“Accreditation cannot simultaneously be permission to participate and a weapon with which to silence participation,” he said.
His intervention comes after NRPUP presidential candidate Brian Mundubile earlier said his alliance’s Parallel Vote Tabulation showed it had won the presidential election. The alliance has since intensified demands for scrutiny of the official documentation behind the ECZ tally.
Zulu’s latest position shifts the immediate argument from competing claims over who has won towards a more testable question: whether the Gen-20 forms held by opposition agents reconcile with the figures being announced by ECZ.
Zulu also demanded information concerning detained opposition-linked figures, including Bishop Trevor Mwamba and lawyer George Chisanga, and called for access to lawyers and families.
Government has separately said several people were detained during a security operation and has made serious national-security allegations against some of those involved.
For now, the central electoral claims remain allegations requiring documentary verification. If NRPUP possesses Gen-20 forms showing discrepancies, those records will be critical to testing its case against the official tally.
Zulu urged supporters to remain peaceful while pressing ECZ to resolve disputes through electoral records rather than confrontation.
– The People’s Brief | Goran Handya