WHEN HAKAINDE HICHILEMA was elected as Zambia’s president in 2021, he promised to reverse(逆转，彻底改变) the democratic slide in the southern African country of 23m. During his long years in opposition, including a spell behind bars, he had preached liberal principles.(在漫长的反对党生涯中，包括一段牢狱之灾，他一直宣扬自由主义原则。) In office, he initially cracked down on(严厉打击，镇压) bullying(恃强凌弱，欺凌) party cadres(干部，骨干成员). In a survey last year, more than three-quarters of Zambians thought he had done a good job of strengthening democracy.
2021年，哈凯恩德·希奇莱马当选赞比亚总统时，承诺扭转这个拥有2300万人口的南部非洲国家的民主倒退趋势。在漫长的反对党生涯中，包括一段牢狱之灾，他一直宣扬自由主义原则。执政初期，他打击了欺凌他人的党内干部。在去年的一项调查中，超过四分之三的赞比亚人认为他在加强民主方面做得很好。
But that reputation may not survive(幸存，经受住) the events of Zambia’s recent election, which was held on August 13th. Mr Hichilema, who was declared the winner on August 18th, almost certainly received the most votes. But evidence of inflated vote tallies presented by independent observers suggests he did not win 60%, as the electoral commission claims.(但独立观察员提出的选票虚增证据表明，他并未像选举委员会声称的那样赢得60%的选票。) The killing of a former cabinet minister by state security forces during a raid on the house of Brian Mundubile, the main opposition candidate, further tarnished(玷污，使黯然失色) the process. So did Mr Mundubile, who claimed victory without showing evidence.
但这一声誉可能无法在赞比亚最近的选举事件中幸存，选举于8月13日举行。希奇莱马先生于8月18日被宣布获胜，几乎肯定获得了最多选票。但独立观察员提出的选票虚增证据表明，他并未像选举委员会声称的那样赢得60%的选票。一名前内阁部长在突袭主要反对派候选人布赖恩·蒙杜比利住宅时被国家安全部队杀害，进一步玷污了这一进程。蒙杜比利先生也是如此，他在没有出示证据的情况下声称获胜。
Voting itself went relatively smoothly. The crucial moment came the day after polling, when the electoral commission suspended(暂停，中止) the vote count, citing unspecified(未指明的，不具体的) attacks on its staff. When tallying resumed, several hours later, the situation had “deteriorated significantly(显著恶化)”, according to observers dispatched(派遣，派出) by the European Union. Instead of recording results as soon as they were announced, the returning officers seemed to wait for instructions from the commission’s headquarters.(计票官员没有在结果公布后立即记录，而是似乎等待委员会总部的指示。) The armed forces maintained a heavy presence(存在，驻扎) at the centres where votes were added up.
投票本身进行得相对顺利。关键时刻出现在投票后的第二天，选举委员会以工作人员遭到不明攻击为由暂停了计票。几个小时后，计票恢复时，据欧盟派出的观察员称，情况已“严重恶化”。计票官员没有在结果公布后立即记录，而是似乎等待委员会总部的指示。武装部队在计票中心保持了大量存在。