Zambia’s parliament voted against opposition attempts to impeach President Levy Mwanawasa over allegations of violating the constitution and ”gross misconduct”.
A total of 92 lawmakers voted against impeachment and 57 in favour.
For the motion to succeed it needed the support of two-thirds, or 106 votes, of the 169 members of Parliament.
Not all deputies were in the house at the time of balloting.
Opposition deputies on Tuesday tabled an historic motion listing 25 counts on which Mwanawasa was accused of breaching the country’s supreme law and of alleged misconduct since he came to power in January last year.
The lawmakers accused him of, among other things, nepotism by allegedly appointing his relatives to higher offices in government and of receiving bribes from businessmen soliciting for business from government. – Sapa-AFP