Vote counting has now began in Zambia following the successful staging of the southern African nation's general elections. After 12 hours of voting, polling stations started closing at 6 pm (1600 GMT), though several hundreds still in queues were being allowed to cast their ballots. Some voters complained about the slow pace of the voting in an election that is seen as a test of Zambia's democracy. President Edgar Lungu deployed more troops in parts of the country to quell election violence in the tightly contested polls pitting him against long-time rival Hakainde Hichilema.

There was also a partial internet restriction. Lungu said election-day violence had killed two people -- including the chairman of his party in North-Western province. In a statement, he said he had directed the army commander "to quickly re-enforce security in North-Western, some parts of Western, and Southern provinces where this unprecedented violence is taking place". "I will not take kindly to these evil schemes," he vowed.

 "How can you talk about free and fair elections when our opponents have taken this election as war?" he said. The troop deployment was just a "distraction", opposition United Party for National Development spokesman Anthony Bwalya told AFP. Sixteen candidates were vying for the top job, but the frontrunners are Lungu, 64, and business tycoon Hichilema, who are facing off at the polls for the third time and who between the two of them garnered almost 98 percent of the votes in the 2016 election. It is Hichilema'a sixth attempt at the presidency.

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