Opposition leader Michael Sata was declared Zambia’s next president early yesterday, after a tense election marred by outbursts of violence that left two people dead.
Sata’s supporters, fearful that Zambian President Rupiah Banda’s camp was trying to steal the vote, were behind much of the unrest.
However, moments after Zambian Chief Justice Ernest Sakala declared Sata’s victory in an announcement made shortly after midnight, they poured into the streets of Lusaka cheering, dancing and honking horns.
The national electoral commission said Sata had won with 43 percent of the vote to Banda’s 36 percent, even though seven of the country’s 150 constituencies had yet to finish counting ballots.
The number of registered voters in the remaining constituencies was smaller than the more than 188,000 votes separating the two rivals, the commission said.
“I therefore declare Michael Chilufya Sata to be duly elected as President of the Republic of Zambia,” Sakala said, to a burst of cheers from Sata’s supporters in the election results center.
This was Sata’s fourth presidential campaign. His victory will make his Patriotic Front only the third party to hold the presidency since independence from Britain in 1964.
Although at 74 Sata is showing signs of his age, his appeal was largely with young Zambians and the unemployed. They feel left out of the mining boom that has made the economy one of the best-performing in Africa.
His supporters’ frustration at the slow pace of the vote count turned to violence on Thursday in two key Copperbelt mining towns. Police there said two people were killed in riots that they had to break up with tear gas and water cannons.
One person died after being hit by a mini-bus during the riots, while another was apparently shot dead, provincial police chief Martin Malama said.
Riots also erupted in several slums around the capital during balloting on Tuesday as Sata supporters alleged their opponents were trying to steal the vote.
Observers said they have not found any evidence to back up the claims of fraud, and insist the violence had not jeopardized the elections.
However, EU monitors accused Banda’s ruling Movement for Multi-party Democracy — which has been in power for 20 years — of having abused state resources including the media and vehicles during its campaign.
Sata tapped into frustration among the youth and the urban poor by criticizing the government for failing to spread the wealth to ordinary Zambians, despite impressive economic growth of 7.6 percent last year.
The Patriotic Front has vowed to bring back a 25 percent windfall tax on mining revenues that Banda’s government abolished in 2009.
The increase in copper prices since then — from about US$3,000 a tonne to almost US$10,000 — and the friendly tax regime have drawn a rush of foreign investment to Zambia, particular from China.
However, Sata also attacked his rival’s record on corruption, after Banda’s government refused to appeal the corruption acquittal of former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba, accused of embezzling US$500,000 during his 1991 to 2002 presidency.
Sata’s critics fear that this strong-willed firebrand, who has openly expressed his admiration for Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, could prove to be an authoritarian president.
However, analysts have said they expect few major policy changes from a man who has muted many of his toughest stances in recent years, despite his populist appeal.
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