Zambia to delay presidential election results as heavy rain hampers vote

The final results of Zambia's presidential election may be delayed as torrential rains hampered the delivery of materials and forced some polling stations to close, the country's electoral body said on Tuesday.

Thousands of millions of Zambians went to polling stations on Tuesday to vote for a new president necessitated by the death of the country's President Michael Sata. However, many polling stations have failed to open due to bad weather, the election commission said.

Priscilla Isaacs, the director of the Electoral Commission of Zambia, said at a press briefing in Lusaka, the country's capital, that it was unlikely for the commission to release the final results on the scheduled date of Jan. 23 as some polling stations will only open on Wednesday after the late arrival of materials and staff due to impassable roads caused by the rains.

"If need be, we may go beyond (Jan.) 23 because we want to have all the results. Areas that require air transport have gone up so the results will delay," she said.

Meanwhile, the director appealed for patience so that the commission could deliver a free and fair election by ensuring that all the results are properly verified from various polling centers across the country.

About 5.1 million registered voters were expected to turn up in the country's 6,456 polling centers across 150 constituencies. Endite