Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema’s election lead widened on Monday, bolstering his bid for a second term as results came in from polls last week clouded by opposition arrests and a much-criticised halt in counting.

Hichilema, 64, is seeking a final five-year term with the August 13 election seen as a high-stakes referendum on his management of the economy as copper production booms.

His share of the vote stood at nearly 61 percent after results from 192 of the 226 constituencies were released late Monday, tightening his grip on a first-round victory ahead of opposition leader Brian Mundubile, on nearly 37 percent.

Only 34 constituencies remain to be tallied, with final results expected later on Monday.

A candidate needs more than 50 percent to win outright or face a run-off.

Thursday’s election was largely peaceful but the run-up was tainted by opposition claims of intimidation, arrests, violence and irregularities.

Mundubile, a 55-year-old former government minister who only entered the race in May, alleged on Monday — without providing evidence — that documents listing the results had been tampered with, which he said risked the “integrity” of the count.

President Hakainde Hichilema is seeking a second and final five-year term. By GIANLUIGI GUERCIA (AFP)

“There are also allegations that officials in Southern Province were pressured to modify figures, with some of the alleged communication said to have been made through local government structures,” he said in a video message posted on social media.

Hours earlier, his NRPUP party angrily rejected government claims that its members were involved in militia or insurgent activity.

This followed the government’s announcement late Sunday that police had arrested 11 people, including six opposition figures, in a raid against “militia activity”.

“The individuals in issue were found in possession of high-grade military weapons, ammunition and other materials for use in armed insurrection,” it said.

The NRPUP said shots were fired in the raid, which took place at Mundubile’s home, and a parliamentarian was hit.

The party “rejects with absolute disdain the spurious and entirely false claims made by the Zambian Government that the NRPUP, its leadership or its members have been involved in insurgency, militia activity or any related conduct whatsoever,” it said.

Suspension, ‘stolen ballots’

The electoral commission suspended vote counting for around six hours on Friday following reports of violence against polling staff and the alleged theft of ballot papers.

The count resumed after the commission announced the “security threat” had been contained. It has not said whether the ballots were recovered.

International observer missions, including the European Union, criticised the pause as risking the credibility of the process and voter confidence.

Zambia is counting the results of general elections held on Thursday. By GIANLUIGI GUERCIA (AFP)

They also warned in preliminary assessments at the weekend that restrictions on the opposition in the campaigning period may have contributed to an uneven contest.

Oxford Economics Africa said Monday events around the vote, including the arrests, had “raised serious questions about the integrity of the results”.

“Hopes of a calm and credible election in Zambia have been dashed,” the think-tank said, warning the country was “very tense”.

The vote is seen as a test of Hichilema’s first five years in office during which the economy has returned to growth.

While he touts debt restructuring and lower inflation as key achievements, critics say the gains have yet to translate into better living standards for ordinary people.

More than 70 percent of the 22 million population lives on less than $3 a day, according to the World Bank.

Mundubile campaigned on a pledge to redirect the copper windfall to the citizens.

Zambia, Africa’s second-largest copper producer, has a long record of peaceful transfers of power through the ballot box, with every change of president since the return to multiparty politics in 1991 achieved through elections.