By Eprahim Nsingo and Lwanga Mwilu
LUSAKA, Sep 23 2011 (IPS)

The election of Michael Chilufya Sata as Zambia’s new president shows that Zambians are more interested in issues of accountability and transparency than mere service delivery, say analysts.

Zambians went to the polls on Sep. 20 and elected a new president. Credit: Ephraim Nsingo/IPS

Sata’s victory brings an end to the 20-year rule of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), where he was formerly a national secretary before breaking away. This was Sata’s fourth attempt at the presidency.

Reuben Lifuka, president of Transparency International Zambia, an international civil society movement with an exclusive focus on corruption, told IPS that Sata’s and the Patriotic Front’s (PF) victory showed political players that they should not be complacent.

“This election has changed the political landscape,” said Lifuka.

He said that when the MMD first came to power in the 1990s their focus had been on service delivery.

“Now people are not just interested in roads, boreholes, schools, and other social services. They are more interested in other aspects of governance. The new yardstick is not about how many boreholes the new government will construct, but how the whole governance process is carried out. People are more interested in issues of accountability and transparency.”

Sata, 74, was declared winner of the country’s Sep. 20 general elections with 43 percent of the vote in the early hours of Friday morning after he beat nine other presidential candidates. Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Justice Irene Mambilima announced the results though votes from seven remaining constituencies had yet to be counted. Sata garnered 1,150,045 votes.

His closest rival, President Rupiah Banda Banda of the MMD, took 36.1 percent of the total votes. Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development came third with 18.5 percent.

The other seven candidates shared the remainder.

Sata was quoted in Zambia’s The Post newspaper as saying that Mambilima woke him up early Friday with news of his victory.

“This is the beginning of the long journey and where we are going, it is not easy. It has not been easy because this result should have been declared two days earlier,” he told the newspaper. The PF claimed that the results had not been announced sooner because the MMD had tried to change them, a charge Banda denied.

Making his maiden speech as president on Friday afternoon at his inauguration, Sata promised to create jobs and transform government within 90 days – a pledge he made during his campaign.

The leader of the PF also indirectly dispelled widespread concerns that he would pounce on Chinese investors, saying he would work to attract foreign investment, but stressed that investors “need to adhere to the labour laws” of Zambia. He has criticised Chinese investment in Zambia in the past.

In a show of reconciliation Sata arrived at his inauguration with Banda; the two have had a hostile relationship in the past.

Sata’s victory was celebrated across the country. Jubilant Zambians took to the streets singing, dancing, chanting slogans, honking car horns, blowing vuvuzelas (a plastic horn) and flashing the PF party symbol of a raised fist.

“This is good news, we knew this time we were going to (win). Last time they cheated us and only beat us by 35,000 votes, but this time we did not give them a chance,” said Christine Chisulo, who was part of a group of young people who took to the streets in Lusaka’s Woodlands suburb to celebrate Sata’s victory.

Reacting to the PF’s victory, losing presidential candidate Ng’andu Magande said the only other times he had seen such scenes of joy over a political victory were when this Southern African country gained independence from Britain in 1964 and in 1991 when Zambia became a multi-party democracy.

“The removal of a government through the ballot sends an important message that (political) office belongs to the citizens and those leaders who do not do what is expected of them will be removed,” he said.

Banda conceded electoral defeat on Friday in a farewell address to the nation.

“The election campaign of 2011 is over. The people of Zambia have spoken and we must all listen,” said Banda.

He called for maturity, composure and compassion, and urged the victors to celebrate with a magnanimous heart.

“Enjoy the hour but remember that a term of government is for (five) years. Remember that the next election will judge you also. Treat those who you have vanquished with the respect and humility that you would expect in your own hour of defeat,” he said.

Banda said his party would accept the results as they would not “deny Zambians”. He said his party never rigged elections, never cheated and never knowingly abused state funds.

The outgoing president, who was in a sombre mood, wondered where his party had gone wrong.

“We must all face the reality that sometimes it is time for change,” he said.

Banda said he has “no ill feeling in my heart, there is no malice in my words”, saying he believed Zambia was still “in good hands”.

“But now it is time for me to step aside. Now is the time for a new leader. My time is done. It is time for me to say good bye,” he said.

McDonald Lewanika, director of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, part of Zimbabwean civil society representatives observing the election, told IPS that while the ECZ could be commended for the transparency of the elections, they could have avoided the violence caused by voting delays.

“There were a number of issues which raised concern, especially issues of logistics, which resulted in unwarranted delays in some areas, and this is what led to the violence.”

On Thursday there were protests on the outskirts of Lusaka’s central business district and there was a heavy police presence in most parts of the Lusaka city centre.

There were also massive protests in the Copperbelt cities of Ndola and Kitwe on Thursday morning. In Kitwe, the Nakadoli Market, which provides employment for hundreds of locals, was razed to the ground by a suspicious fire. Police reportedly used water canons and teargas to break up protests. Some banks suspended business because of the violence.

In a notice to customers, mobile service provider Airtel Zambia announced that the company had closed its stores in the Copperbelt province.

Many businesses had closed and ordered their employees to stay at home until the situation normalised.

Excerpt:

By Lwanga Mwilu and Eprahim Nsingo
LUSAKA, Sep 20 2011 (IPS)

Only two incidents of violence, triggered by the late start of voting and the suspicion of electoral fraud, were reported as Zambians went to the polls to elect a new president and government on Tuesday.

Zambians went to the polls to elect a new president and government on Tuesday. Credit: Lwanga Mwilu/IPS

The nationwide violence expected and feared by many did not occur as citizens spent Monday stocking up on basic commodities.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has dismissed reports of electoral fraud and extended voting hours at all polling stations affected by the late commencement.

In a live broadcast on local radio Q-FM, ECZ public relations manager Chris Akufuna announced that all voting will be extended at these polling stations.

Some polling stations did not open at 6am as planned as voting materials had not been delivered. In Kanyama and Lilanda East in Lusaka the late commencement of voting triggered violence. When ballot papers were finally delivered, some irate voters tore them and set them alight claiming that they were pre-marked in favour of a particular candidate.

The situation in both areas degenerated when some citizens became riotous. At the Lilanda Basic School polling station in Lilanda compound, vehicles were stoned and one was set ablaze.

At Nakatindi polling station in Kanyama compound, voting had not started by midday and infuriated citizens ran riot as they suspected the ballots were pre-marked and they vandalised the voting area. Akufuna described the violence as unfortunate and denied suggestions that it was due to a lack of preparedness on the commission’s part.

“The ECZ was very prepared for these elections and the situation of the late delivery of materials in Lusaka is just disappointing … Our instructions were that all materials be in polling stations yesterday. As a commission, we will ultimately take responsibility for these disruptions but we tried our best to ensure the best scenario,” he said.

A number of reports of pre-marked ballots have emerged in different parts of the country but Akufuna dismissed all these allegations of electoral fraud.

“That is just a report. It does not arise because all ballot papers were physically inspected and none were pre-marked. These reports are probably emanating from people who wish us ill. Yes we have had challenges and we are dealing with them but fraud is not one of them,” Akufuna said.

As the clock ticked towards the opening of polling stations for Zambia’s tripartite elections, the fears of Zambians became evident on Monday.

Scores of people rushed to supermarkets to buy basic commodities, fearing that the situation could deteriorate after the elections.

“I am just trying to be on the safe side, people are circulating all sorts of rumours about what may happen after the election. I have bought enough food for my family for the next few weeks, just in case we experience what happened in Zimbabwe (after the 2008 elections), where they stayed for more than a month waiting for results, and during that time there was a lot of violence.

“Schools have not closed, but I will not take my children to school until after we are sure the situation has calmed down,” said Kaywala Chibwe, one of the many shoppers who filled up their trolleys at a Lusaka supermarket.

Some supermarkets even struggled to supply enough trolleys for their customers.

Meanwhile, the country’s only female presidential candidate, Edith Nawakwi of the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD), called for peace ahead of Tuesday’s vote.

“We need peace, we need stability and we need our people to start thinking about creating wealth at household level,” said Nawakwi.

“Zambia is the heart of central Africa. Anything that goes wrong here during or after the elections will affect our brothers and sisters in the region. Zambians must understand that in the region, everybody is busy with a development agenda; no one in Southern Africa wants to start dealing with a horde of refugees that arise out of post-election conflict.” She said she hoped her participation in the elections was a uniting factor for Zambians. “I pray that my fellow Zambian women will realise that women have a much larger role to play in this election and that role is to keep peace in the homes, in the streets, we must pray and urge our members, our children not to involve themselves in violence,” Nawakwi said.

“I am appealing that…after the elections, people must conduct themselves in a manner that will ensure that there is peace and stability for all citizens,” said presidential candidate Dr. Fred Mtesa of the Zambians for Empowerment and Development.

United party for National Development presidential candidate Hakainde Hichilema said: “We have done enough work and the rest is for the people for Zambia to decide what they want, what sort of life they want. We have given the message.”

Excerpt:

When Zambians go the polls on Sep. 20 they will have the most effective team of observers monitoring the electoral process – themselves. Citizens, through social media, will be able to report offences and irregularities during and before the general elections.

A poster asking people to vote for Edith Nawakwi, the only woman presidential candidate. Credit: Ephraim Nsingo/IPS

An initiative called Bantu Watch was launched on Saturday by civil society to ensure that the Southern African nation has a higher level of citizen participation in monitoring the elections.

It is a simple system. People can text anonymous reports to a local number, 3018, using their mobile phones or they can log onto the website to report incidents online.

Formal election observers based in the areas where the reports originate will first verify electoral irregularities that require action from either electoral staff or police.

As voters go to the polls next week to elect a president, parliament and local government representatives, there have been fears of election violence. Opposition parties have accused President Rupiah Banda’s ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) of intimidating those who oppose the president and the party.

Civil society and politicians have hailed the initiative and see it as a means of quickly addressing any incidents.

“It is a great electoral malpractice preventive mechanism as people can report, in real time, offences such as intimidation, hate speech, vote buying, polling clerk bias, voting misinformation and so on. Action can be taken right away,” Lee Habasonda, executive director of the Southern African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (SACCORD), told IPS. The project is run by Zambia’s civil society and social media representatives under SACCORD.

Even those running for office have welcomed the initiative. The presidential candidate for the opposition National Restoration Party, Elias Chipimo Jr., said any initiative that could help reduce election violence should be embraced.

“There is too much pre-election violence and intimidation and any effort to prevent this will not be wasted. One of our members is currently nursing a wound after being assaulted by a ruling party cadre and there are eyewitness accounts which can confirm this. So my party fully welcomes this initiative,” he said.

And voters are welcoming it too.

Reports are already flowing in to the Bantu Watch website from across the country. The unverified reports describe incidents of bribery, electoral fraud, and violation of the electoral code of conduct, among others.

One report from someone identified only as “MSimushi” from Senanga in western Zambia says: “Agents of ruling MMD party in Senanga are busy trying 2 bribe appointed poll staff with cash in return 4 favour @ vote count.”

Another says: “#Zambiaelections: Vehicle allegedly used in (the United Party for National Development) UPND campaigns identified as judiciary property.”

“We expect a great response to Bantu Watch because this is a simple enough thing to do, and it does not require complicated technical expertise. All a person needs is access to either a mobile phone or the internet, which are platforms many people already use every day.”

Habasonda said trained monitors in the country’s nine provinces would verify the citizen reports before forwarding them to the relevant authorities for action.

“We have trained system administrators to receive and verify reports, they will act like gatekeepers. Depending on how successful this is, the initiative will be institutionalised and become part of every election,” he said.

The opposition Patriotic Front’s Secretary General Wynter Kabimba was hopeful that Bantu Watch would allow electoral offences to be reported while something can still be done about them.

Kabimba, whose party has petitioned election results before, said many reports of irregularities had not been investigated further in the past and some only managed to reach the relevant authorities after they had already been overtaken by events. He said in some cases the people who the complaints were about had already taken office and intimidated the complainants. “This initiative is therefore a very welcome thing, as it will finally give people a chance to report cases while something can still be done about them,” he said.

Kabimba, however, urged the project administrators to be aware that sometimes people’s perceptions of an incident differed from what really happened and they tended to be alarmist.

The spokesperson for the ruling MMD, Dora Siliya, agreed.

“Zambians should continue to have faith in the Electoral Commission and trust them to do a competent job of delivering free and fair elections. Yes it is important to have such initiatives that allow citizens to monitor and report, but we also know that sometimes people do things out of malice and some of these reports may be motivated by this,” she said.

Media academic Dr. Elijah Mwewa Mutambanshiku Bwalya of the University of Zambia’s Department of Mass Communication said: “Ordinary voices have been missing from the public media, which have been monopolised by the ruling party. So this initiative is a great way of finally allowing citizens a voice in the electoral process.”

He added that he was concerned that those in rural areas would not be able to use Bantu Watch as many did not have mobile phones, let alone an internet connection.

The data compiled will become part of a report with recommendations for improving the electoral process.