Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) chief electoral officer
Patrick Nshindano said the agency would start announcing results from 10 am
(1:30pm). ECZ has said full results will be known within 72 hours after polls
closed.
The government declined to comment on the disruptions to the
Internet, which users said affected several social media sites. Mobile phone
networks directed questions to the government. Facebook confirmed it was among
those impacted.
"We know that temporary disruptions of Internet services
have tremendous, negative human rights, economic and social consequences, and
continue to strongly oppose these," a Facebook spokesperson said.
Use of social media like WhatsApp is part of everyday life
in Zambia and restricting Internet access could fuel suspicion about the
outcome of the vote, which is seen as too close to call.
On Twitter and Facebook, Zambians said they were using
virtual private networks to get around the restrictions on the Internet.
Millions of Zambians turned out to vote, forcing some
polling stations to remain open past their official time of closing, pointing
to a large voter turnout.
But Lungu, who has been in power since 2015, has already
cast doubt on the outcome of the election in three provinces after he accused
the opposition of violence on Thursday that killed a ruling party official.
He directed the army to send reinforcements to the
provinces, although European and African observers said the vote had so far
been largely peaceful.
On the streets of the capital Lusaka businesses were open
and citizens went about their daily routine as they waited for results.
The winner of the election faces the task of boosting
Zambia's flagging economy, which became the continent's first country during
the coronavirus pandemic to default on its sovereign debt in November.
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