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PF cadres, police clash over election results
By Bivan Saluseki, Nomusa Michelo and Kwenda Paipi
Sunday October 01, 2006 [12:25]

Police load arrested PF cadres into a police truck outside Mulungushi
Election Centre -Picture By Eddie Mwanaleza

PATRIOTIC Front cadres clashed with police over the election results in
which their leader Michael Sata slipped to third position in the
Presidential race. And Sata has accused the Electoral Commission of
Zambia (ECZ) of suppressing election results. The cadres blocked Great
East Road and started throwing stones around midday. Some of the
stone-throwing cadres were picked up and bundled into police anti riot
vehicles. During the ensuing confusion, some of the people fled into
Arcades shopping mall away from the advancing police officers
supervised by Lusaka Division Commanding Officer Wazakaza Nguni. The
cadres, waving placards, had earlier peacefully protested outside
Mulungushi International Conference Centre (MICC) where the election
results were being announced.

Some of the placards read: "Mr Sata is not Mazoka, be careful, we are
ready to die. We are ready to fight Levy and Vernon." News of Sata
slipping to third position filtered through to the cadres around 10:30
hours, immediately causing angry protests. Sata has scooped majority
votes in Lusaka and the Copperbelt over his fellow presidential
candidates. Police had a tough time controlling the cadres who at one
point blocked part of the Great East Road. Some of the cadres came from
the University of Zambia and were ferried in minibuses. A lady cadre
took on a male police officer who was only armed with a shot button and
wanted to slap him. However, some police officers rescued their
colleague and took him to the centre's entrance. The cadres also sang
anti-Mwanawasa songs. Police spokesperson Bonny Kapeso said police were
monitoring the situation.
Some of the cadres shouted that they would continue with street
protests because Sata's votes had been manipulated.

And during a briefing at PF secretariat at the same time the protests
were taking place, Sata claimed that the ECZ was suppressing elections
results to make President Mwanawasa win the election. "They are
jittery, they are panicking. We need verification because now we have
received information from all over the country where for example in
Kabushi there was 14,000 in my favour but they gave me only 7,000 and
they gave the MP only 7,000," he claimed. "They are trying to suppress
these results. All they want is to make Mwanawasa to say that he has
won." Sata said for as long as the election results had not yet been
announced by the Chief Justice, they (PF) still had the right to have
the results verified. "We have a right to verify station by station in
all constituencies," he said Sata said he would not be intimidated,
saying he had heard reports that he would be arrested for allegedly
alarming the nation. "They are trying to use all sorts of intimidation,
psychological warfare," Sata said. "I have a constitutional right to
defend my vote. I have a constitutional right to defend what they are
trying to deprive me."

Sata said Mwanawasa would not have the conscience to rule the country
with a stolen vote. "Will he have the conscience to run the country
when he has stolen a vote?" he asked. Sata said he had written to the
ECZ to verify the elections results and complain about the selective
release of results. And Sata said it would be a sad day in the history
of Zambia if elections were rigged.
Reacting to President Mwanawasa's lead in the presidential polls at a
press briefing at his house on Saturday evening, Sata said Electoral
Commission of Zambia (ECZ) chairperson Justice Ireen Mambilima should
accept to verify all the presidential results that have been counted so
far or face the consequences of running a fraudulent election.

"We have established more than 400,000 votes have been suffocated and
this is mostly on presidential, nobody can tell us what has happened.
We as PF are demanding immediate verification before the election
results are announced," Sata demanded. "If Justice Mambilima does not
accept to verify the results she will bear the consequences of running
a fraudulent election." Sata said he did not see any reason as to why
the verification cannot be done in that a candidate has got a right to
demand for the verification of results. "A candidate has a right to
demand for the verification of results before they are handed over to
the Chief Justice," he stated. Sata claimed that some presidential
results in Lusaka, Copperbelt, Central, Luapula Northern and Eastern
provinces have been concealed. "The point is that the results are not
spoiled, they have just disappeared," Sata charged. He said the
discrepancies in the presidential results was evident by the fiasco of
ECZ to announce the results of areas like Munali and Lukashya where it
was well known that the PF had scooped the presidential polls. "In
Munali just next door - they have hidden 20,000 votes. If these results
were for Mwanawasa they would have been announced by now," he said.
"Lupando Mwape has lost and up to now they have not announced the
results."

Sata accused MMD campaign committee chairman Vernon Mwaanga of being
behind the concealing of the results. "Our chief rigger Vernon Mwaanga
is saying Lusaka and Copperbelt is not Zambia, we know him he is the
master minder of all this, we want to maintain peace," he said. Sata
said immediately he is confirmed the winner he would bring transparency
in the electoral process in Zambia not the way things were being
handled.

He said he wondered why MMD would want to dubiously emerge victorious
instead of winning by defending what they had achieved so far. "If I am
the winner, I will bring transparency. If I am the incumbent I should
defend what I have achieved," Sata said. He accused ECZ and MMD of
trying to take Zambia back in the days when the President was standing
with hyenas and frogs. "This is evident if you take the aggregate and
compare you will see the discrepancies," he said.

Sata said PF was asking for not more than just transparent elections,
adding that his party if it were to lose wanted to lose genuinely. "The
results on the ground and the results we have been told have not been
the same so we are submitting an official letter requesting immediate
verification of results before they are declared," he said. Sata said
if ECZ wanted transparent, free and fair elections they should accept
the verification, adding that his party could not accept more than
400,000 votes to be lost. "If these results are spoiled we should have
seen the spoiled papers raging from 2000 to 20,000," he said.


According to results announced by Judge Mambilima, President Mwanawasa
had 733,772 representing 38.71 per cent of the votes cast, with
Hakainde Hichilema at 579,494 representing 30.57 per cent and Sata with
537,844 representing 28.37 per cent.

Brig Gen Godfrey Miyanda had 30,992 and APC's Ken Ngondo had 13,398.
This was out of 94 constituencies and represented 1,895,500 votes.

In Bwanamukubwa, Sata polled 764, President Mwanawasa had 4,631, and
Hichilema had 1,404, Miyanda 185 and Ngondo 48.

In Chadiza, Hichilema had 6049, President Mwanawasa had 5,305, and Sata
had 985, Miyanda 219 and Ngondo 187.

In Chasefu in Lundazi, Hichilema had 13,261, President Mwanawasa had
6,280, Sata 2,059, Miyanda 678 and Ngondo 342.

In Chawama, President Mwanawasa had 8089, Hichilema had 3,050, Sata had
70, Miyanda had 69 and Ngondo had 50.

In Chembe, President Mwanawasa had 4831, Sata had 2339, and Hichilema
had 491, Miyanda 76 and Ngondo 29.

In Chifubu, Sata 11761, President Mwanawasa had 7,974, Hichilema 2,027,
Miyanda 236, Ngondo 51.

In Chikankata Hichilema 14412, President Mwanawasa 2465, Sata 649,
Miyanda 382 and Ngondo 89.

In Chisamba President Mwanawasa had 12,492, Hichilema had 7999, Sata
1800, Miyanda 226 and Ngondo 90.

In Chitambo, President Mwanawasa, 7435, Sata 957, Hichilema 309,
Miyanda 97 and Ngondo 49.

In Ndundumwezi, Hichilema had 14696, President Mwanawasa 669, Miyanda
46, Sata 136 and Ngondo 101.

Kafulafuta, President Mwanawasa 8660, Hichilema 335, Sata 314, Miyanda
80 and Ngondo 32.

Kapiri Mposhi, President Mwanawasa 28870, Hichilema 8192, Sata 6255,
Miyanda 429 and Ngondo 164.

In Katombora, Hichilema had 16 158, President Mwanawasa 8953, Miyanda
444, Sata 302 and Ngondo 120.

Katuba, President Mwanawasa had 10,509, Hichilema 4,398, Sata 1,525,
Miyanda 153, and Ngondo 64.

In Keembe, President Mwanawasa had 19,432, Hichilema 8338, Sata 909,
Miyanda 285 and Ngondo 137.

In Luena, President Mwanawasa had 9886, Hichilema 410, Sata 403, Ngondo
206, Miyanda 78.

In Lufwanyama, President Mwanawasa had 13,489, Sata had 1,492,
Hichilema 1032, Miyanda 232 and Ngondo 141.

In Lumezi, President Mwanawasa had 9,433, Hichilema had 7891, Sata had
2898, Miyanda had 386 and Ngondo had 227.

In Magoye, Hichilema had 11 815, President Mwanawasa 2 236, Miyanda
209, Sata 139 and Ngondo zero.

Masaiti, President Mwanawsasa 13 090, Sata 1 206, Hichilema 597, Ngondo
205 and Miyanda 93.

In Mukaika, President Mwanawasa 8444, Hichilema 5881, Sata 2143, Ngondo
580 and Miyanda 533.

In Muchinga President Mwanawasa had 7444, Hichilema 1086, Sata 450,
Miyanda 113 and Ngondo 41.

In Nakonde, President Mwanawasa had 14,389, Sata 2,746, Hichilema 1
013, Miyanda 228 and Ngondo 118.

Ndola Central, Sata had 14 962 President Mwanawasa 4 731, Hichilema 2
824.
In Vumbwi, Hichilema had 3 978, President Mwanawasa 3512, Sata 413,
Miyanda 397 and Ngondo 391.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5396884.stm

Zambia vote count sparks protests

Protester arrested in Lusaka, Zambia

A number of protesters in Lusaka were arrested

Armed police have been deployed in Zambia's capital Lusaka after fresh
interim results were announced from last week's presidential election.
Supporters of opposition candidate Michael Sata protested after he
dropped from first to third place with two-thirds of constituencies
counted. The electoral commission said current President Levy Mwanawasa
had moved into the lead. Mr Sata has challenged the official vote tally
and called for a recount. Police fired tear gas to disperse supporters
of Mr Sata who had gathered at the main vote counting centre in Lusaka.
A number of people have been arrested.

'Ghastly consequences'

With 94 of 150 constituencies counted, the electoral commission said
that President Mwanawasa of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy has
more than 38% of the vote. Another opposition candidate, Hakainda
Hichilema of the United Democratic Alliance, has 30%. After taking an
early commanding lead in the count, the Patriotic Front's Mr Sata has
slipped to 28%.

Election officials count votes
The counting process has been criticised for its slowness

Mr Sata is expected to launch an official complaint with Zambia's
electoral commission over what he says are thousands of missing ballot
papers. He has warned of "ghastly consequences" if electoral fraud is
detected. International observers have generally praised the electoral
commission for conducting an efficient and transparent poll. But the
commission has also come under increasing criticism for the slow pace
of result announcements. Zambia has a total of four million registered
voters, and officials said turnout for Thursday's election was high. Mr
Mwanawasa's campaign for a second and final five-year term was based on
his strong economic record. He and his backers have boasted about
steady economic growth and success in getting most of the country's
foreign debt written off. But opposition supporters say ordinary people
have yet to feel the effects of the economic reforms - the revival in
the crucial copper sector is slow, unemployment is high and there is
concern over health and education standards. Mr Sata has vowed to
secure a more equitable distribution of wealth.