UPND secretary general Batuke Imenda says preliminary results show that Hakainde Hichilema is on track to achieve a resounding first-round victory in Thursday’s election.

In a statement, Friday, Imenda thanked Zambians for coming out in large numbers to vote.

He further assured citizens that the UPND Alliance was working hard to protect the vote so that they could get started on the work of creating jobs and putting food on the table for all Zambians.

“On behalf of the incoming President, I would like to thank Zambians for turning out in unprecedented numbers yesterday (Thursday). The long queues and huge turnout recorded yesterday have sent a strong and powerful message that Zambians are ready for change. This message is evident in the Gen20a forms being tallied by our party agents across the country which show that Hakainde Hichilema is on track to achieve a comprehensive first round victory. In the past 18 hours, we have collated data from all 12,152 polling stations in all 10 provinces following months of planning to ensure the will of the people is both respected and protected,” he stated.

“Based on the collation of Gen20a forms received by our campaign team, HH will comfortably win Central Province, Copperbelt Province, Lusaka Province, North Western Province, Southern Province and Western Province. In addition, a win is likely in Eastern Province while Northern Province is currently too close to call. I want to reassure you that the UPND Alliance is working hard behind the scenes to protect your vote so that we can get started on the work of creating jobs and putting food on the table for all Zambians as soon as possible.”

Imenda said the party was looking forward to working with the ECZ to ensure that results were shared in a transparent manner.

“We welcome the announcements of results by the Electoral Commission of Zambia. It is of critical importance that they continue with their planned announcements free of fear, intimidation, or interference. We look forward to working with them to ensure that all results are shared in a transparent and open manner, constituency by constituency, so the figures can be properly scrutinised by citizens. Through this process we can demonstrate that the will of the people is being respected and ensure full public confidence in the outcome of the process,” stated Imenda.

He however called on Zambians to remain calm, patient and peaceful as they await official results.