Politics
High security for Zambia Presidential Elections
“What the commission has put in place is really a transparent system where there will not be any space or chance for anyone to manipulate,” he told journalists.
“The representatives of these political parties will be there, and they will be able to see what is happening on the ground.”
Akufuna said election authorities plan to release the official results within 48 hours of the close of polls at 6:00 pm (12:00 pm EST) Tuesday.
Banda has campaigned on a platform of economic growth and infrastructure development, after presiding over an economy that expanded 7.6 percent last year and 6.4 percent the year before, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), one of the fastest rates in Africa.
The growth spurt has been driven by rising international copper prices and a rush of Chinese investment in Zambian copper mines. The country is the biggest producer in Africa and the seventh biggest in the world.
Banda and the MMD claim credit for the boom and the public works construction spree it has helped fund.
“From the MMD you get more growth, more investment and more jobs for our youth,” he told supporters at his final campaign rally at the weekend.
But Banda has been accused of failing to spread the wealth, with 64 percent of the country’s 12.9 million people still living on less than two dollars a day.
Under Banda, the country abolished a 25 percent tax on windfall profits in the mining sector, pleasing investors but sacrificing hundreds of millions of dollars in state revenue.
Sata, who is making his fourth bid for president, wants to re-institute the tax.
Copyright © 2011 AFP.
