Politics
High security for Zambia Presidential Elections
Zambia’s President Rupiah Banda (pictured), on Monday made a stern call for peace the day before voters go to the polls in an election that will again see him face off against fiery rival Michael Sata.
The last contest between the two leaders, a 2008 race to fill the remainder of late president Levy Mwanawasa‘s term, was followed by days of rioting by Sata’s supporters after he lost to Banda by two percentage points.
Banda said any acts of violence or intimidation around Tuesday’s vote will be met with arrest and prosecution.
“To those who may be contemplating any illegal acts or intimidation or, even worse, physical violence, I have this message for you: I have ordered the police to arrest and prosecute all those who will offend,” he said in a special address broadcast on national television.
National police inspector general Francis Kabonde told journalists Monday that as a security precaution he had ordered his officers to arrest anyone found in public with a slingshot, axe or other potential weapon.
Sata has alleged the 2008 election was rigged, and at the weekend accused Banda and his party, the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD), of plotting to steal Tuesday’s vote.
The opposition leader reacted indignantly on Monday to Banda’s call for peace.
“We are not violent, it is MMD who are violent,” he told AFP.
In an interview published Monday in the state-owned Zambia Daily Mail, Banda dismissed the opposition Patriotic Front (PF) leader’s vote-rigging allegations.
“It is incumbent on those making these allegations to prove to the monitors how the elections will be rigged,” he said.
Electoral Commission of Zambia spokesman Chris Akufuna said there was no way the vote could be stolen.
