赞比亚正在进行总统和议会选举，超过800万名注册选民参与投票[1]。投票于当地时间06:00至18:00进行[1]。现任总统哈基翁德·希奇莱玛寻求连任第二届任期，与包括前爱国阵线政府官员布莱恩·蒙杜比莱在内的14位候选人竞争[1]。
候选人若要胜出需获得超过50%的票数，否则将在37天内举行第二轮投票[1]。64岁的希奇莱玛在2021年第六次参选时胜出[1]。这场选举被视为对赞比亚民主稳定性的考验，失业和生活成本上升是选民关注的主要议题[1]。29岁的大学生詹姆斯·菲里投票支持希奇莱玛，表示"他关心我们"[1]。47岁的焊工塞缪尔·奇腾德韦则表示"我们厌倦了经济进步的故事"[1]。
Zambians cast their ballots in presidential and parliamentary elections, with polling stations open from 6:00 to 18:00 local time [1]. More than 8 million registered voters participated in the electoral process [1]. President Hakainde Hichilema, aged 64 and seeking his second term after winning his first in 2021 on his sixth attempt, faced 13 other presidential candidates [1]. His primary challenger was Brian Mundubile, a former official from the previous Patriotic Front government [1].
To secure outright victory, a candidate needed to capture more than 50 percent of the vote [1]. Should no candidate achieve this threshold, a second round of voting would be scheduled within 37 days [1]. The election was regarded as a test of democratic stability in the country, with voters prioritizing concerns about unemployment and rising living costs [1].
At the polling stations, supporters of both leading contenders expressed their motivations. James Phiri, a 29-year-old university student, stated he voted for Hichilema because "he cares about us" [1]. Samuel Chitende, a 47-year-old welder, expressed voter fatigue, saying "we are tired of stories of economic progress" [1].