Polling booths began to close in Zambia at 6pm local time on Thursday at the end of a general election in which President Levy Mwanawasa is seeking a second and final term of office, organisers said.
A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission of Zambia said people who were queueing outside voting stations at the official close of voting would still be able to cast their ballot but no-one else would be allowed to join the line.
”Those who are in the queue will still be allowed to vote,” Chris Akafuna told AFP.
”Generally, the voting went off smoothly. Although we did have some hiccups here and there, they were not major.”
There were no immediate official figures on turnout but it appeared to be high.
”The level of participation is very high but I cannot give you a percentage,” said Annemie Neyts, the head of the European Union’s Election Observation Mission to Zambia.
Mwanawasa is facing a contest from four other candidates, including Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata, who is expected to mount a strong challenge.
Apart from choosing a president, the 3,9-million-strong electorate also voted over the course of 12 hours for members of the national assembly and local councils.
Counting will start immediately after the close of polling but the final results were not expected until Friday at the earliest. — Sapa-AFP