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Zambia's opposition leader concedes defeat in presidential election

Xinhua, January 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Zambia's opposition leader Nevers Mumba on Thursday conceded defeat in the presidential election.

Mumba, leader of the former ruling party Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), said that from the results announced so far, it was clear that he was not headed anywhere.

The opposition leader has only managed to get 8,035 votes or 0. 77 percent from 80 constituencies announced so far out of 150 constituencies, according to official results released by the electoral body.

Edgar Lungu of the governing Patriotic Front is leading the race so far with 533,613 votes or 50.85 percent, followed by his main challenger Hakainde Hichilema of the opposition United Party for National Development who has 474,076 votes or 45.18 percent.

"The MMD should regroup and make the necessary decisions to take our party forward. We look forward to working together as we will provide the necessary checks and balances," said Mumba, the county's former vice-president.

He also urged political parties to accept the outcome of the election, and desist from anything which could bring instability and conflict in the country.

The MMD, which ruled Zambia from 1991 to 2011, suffered a major setback in the run-up to the Jan. 20 presidential election when it split into three groups.

One group, led by former Zambian President Rupiah Banda, decided to campaign for the governing party candidate while another group comprising of senior party members campaigned for opposition leader Hichilema.

Eleven candidates took part in Zambia's presidential election and final results are expected to be out by Friday. Endi