Zambians tensely await poll results

LUSAKA – Zambians awaited the final results of national elections yesterday after word that the incumbent had taken a commanding lead sparked rioting.

There were no immediate reports of fresh unrest early yesterday. President Levy Mwanawasa appealed for calm late Sunday after police in Lusaka clashed with supporters of populist firebrand Michael Sata, whose early lead in the five-man presidential race evaporated in three days of slow vote counting.The blunt-spoken Sata, who dropped to third place, has accused the government of manipulating the results.The government says the election has been run cleanly.Oxter Banda, an election official for Sata’s Patriotic Front party, said disturbances in Lusaka’s Matero township, one of Sata’s biggest strongholds, were quelled by police and soldiers overnight.In neighbouring Chipata township, a witness said two police vehicles were torched, and some nearby shops were burned and looted.Police fired tear gas to disperse rioters outside the main vote counting centre in Lusaka on Sunday and reported stone-throwing and rioting in three other impoverished Lusaka districts.Heavy security included police and troop reinforcements outside the State House, Mwanawasa’s official residence.The last 2001 election, which Mwanawasa won with 29 per cent of the vote, was marred by allegations of vote-rigging.Mwanawasa and his Movement for Multiparty Democracy have touted a record of economic and anti-corruption policies that have won praise from international donors, who last year agreed to cancel nearly all of Zambia’s $7,2 billion foreign debt.The opposition argues economic gains have not trickled down to the majority in a nation where 73 per cent live in poverty and 50 percent have no work.Sata drew huge crowds in poor townships and roiled the campaign with promises of jobs and a crackdown on “bogus” investors, singling out growing numbers of Chinese in the country.With 120 of Zambia’s 150 constituencies reporting Sunday, Mwanawasa had 42 per cent of the vote.Businessman Haikande Hichilema was in second with 28 per cent of the vote, and Sata has 27 per cent.Announcements scheduled Sunday night were cancelled due to the fraught security situation, the official Electoral Commission said.But more results were expected yesterday.Nampa-APPresident Levy Mwanawasa appealed for calm late Sunday after police in Lusaka clashed with supporters of populist firebrand Michael Sata, whose early lead in the five-man presidential race evaporated in three days of slow vote counting.The blunt-spoken Sata, who dropped to third place, has accused the government of manipulating the results.The government says the election has been run cleanly.Oxter Banda, an election official for Sata’s Patriotic Front party, said disturbances in Lusaka’s Matero township, one of Sata’s biggest strongholds, were quelled by police and soldiers overnight.In neighbouring Chipata township, a witness said two police vehicles were torched, and some nearby shops were burned and looted.Police fired tear gas to disperse rioters outside the main vote counting centre in Lusaka on Sunday and reported stone-throwing and rioting in three other impoverished Lusaka districts.Heavy security included police and troop reinforcements outside the State House, Mwanawasa’s official residence.The last 2001 election, which Mwanawasa won with 29 per cent of the vote, was marred by allegations of vote-rigging.Mwanawasa and his Movement for Multiparty Democracy have touted a record of economic and anti-corruption policies that have won praise from international donors, who last year agreed to cancel nearly all of Zambia’s $7,2 billion foreign debt.The opposition argues economic gains have not trickled down to the majority in a nation where 73 per cent live in poverty and 50 percent have no work.Sata drew huge crowds in poor townships and roiled the campaign with promises of jobs and a crackdown on “bogus” investors, singling out growing numbers of Chinese in the country.With 120 of Zambia’s 150 constituencies reporting Sunday, Mwanawasa had 42 per cent of the vote.Businessman Haikande Hichilema was in second with 28 per cent of the vote, and Sata has 27 per cent.Announcements scheduled Sunday night were cancelled due to the fraught security situation, the official Electoral Commission said.But more results were expected yesterday.Nampa-AP