Zambia’s outgoing president Levy Mwanawasa took the lead as vote counting continued after general and presidential elections, but opposition leader Michael Sata disputed some results, citing ”irregularities”.
Latest figures issued for the presidential vote by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) late on Saturday showed Mwanawasa with 510 523 votes ahead of Sata with 473 332 and businessman Hakainde Hichilema with 441 400.
Sata, who had maintained an early lead in the presidential elections, told reporters that he had discovered vote irregularities and fraud in the results and has since demanded verification of the ballots.
”So far we have discovered over 400 000 presidential ballots missing from areas where we are strong,” Sata said at an impromptu news conference.
He has urged the ECZ not to officially announce the winner before verifying the alleged missed ballots.
”We demand that no winner should be announced before we verify all ballots. There is no way votes can just evaporate in regions where we are strong,” Sata said, warning of ”severe consequences” should his demand be ignored.
The final election results are not expected until Sunday. Partial figures revealed by the electoral commission at 4pm local time on Saturday had showed Sata — the head of Zambia’s Popular Front party — ahead with 38,6% of the votes, while Mwanawasa had polled 32,1%.
Nearly four million voters were called on to vote in the poll.
Earlier in the day Sata warned of ”ghastly consequences” if he is deprived of the presidency.
Disputing the outcome of voting in three seats in the north of Zambia, which were won by Mwanawasa’s Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), Sata told journalists he would not accept any attempts to rig the election.
Sata has built a mass following among Zambia’s poor by promising to reverse their fortunes within 90 days if elected president and he remains confident that once all the votes are counted he will achieve his aim.
The MMD has been in power in Zambia since 1991 and Mwanawasa is seeking a second and final term after an initial five years in the presidency.
Mwanawasa ran a lacklustre campaign, partially overshadowed by speculation about his health after a stroke in April. — Sapa-AFP