Unrest as chance of Zambian opposition victory fades

Unrest as chance of Zambian opposition victory fades

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By Shapi Shacinda

ZAMBIAN President Levy Mwanawasa appealed for calm ahead of final election results due on Monday after opposition supporters looted shops and blocked roads to protest what they called vote rigging by the ruling party.

Mwanawasa, who surged ahead in vote counting on Sunday, addressed the nation and said the election was "free and fair".

"I want to appeal for calm and peace. The law enforcement agencies will deal firmly with all troublemakers and those who want to sabotage the elections," he said.

Main challenger Michael Sata initially looked set to sweep Mwanawasa from power on the back of strong support from Zambia's poor. But the incumbent, lauded by international donors for his economic reforms, streaked ahead, relegating Sata to third place behind wealthy businessman Hakainde Hichilema.

Partial results on Sunday from the electoral commission gave Mwanawasa 42 percent of votes counted, compared to 28 percent for Hichilema of the United Democratic Alliance -- who has also complained of voting irregularities -- and 27 percent for Sata.

The results covered 120 of 150 constituencies and 2.26 million of some 4 million Zambians registered to vote.

Sata accused Mwanawasa's Movement for Mulitparty Democracy (MMD) of spoiling or stealing more than 400,000 ballot papers and vowed "severe consequences" if his protests were ignored.

Opposition supporters torched tyres and hurled stones at police -- who hit back with volleys of tear gas -- in four townships near the capital Lusaka late on Sunday and some looted shops, including a major supermarket.

"We are not going to allow the election to be stolen," yelled one Sata supporter.

Election officials delayed final results for the presidential election, which were expected late on Sunday, until 0800 GMT on Monday for "security reasons".

Witnesses said the violence in Lusaka appeared to be subsiding by late on Sunday.

The violence contrasted with orderly voting on Thursday in what poll observers described as a model African election.

The Southern African country whose mainstay is copper exports has largely escaped the political violence that has dogged many other African countries.

Sata, a 69-year-old populist who has praised the controversial land policies of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, had vowed to get tough with Chinese investors. His stronghold included Zambia's key Copperbelt region.

Mwanawasa, 58, is hoping to secure a second and final five-year term on the back of his economic record, which includes winning billions of dollars in debt relief and boosting economic growth to above 5 percent.

However critics say the reforms have not translated into a better life for ordinary Zambians, more than two thirds of whom live on less than $1 a day. - Reuters
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