Zambia: Banda Regains Presidency In Election

2 November 2008
allAfrica.com

Zambia's Vice-President, Rupiah Banda, has edged out the main opposition challenger, Michael Sata, to win the presidential election, Zambia's electoral commission announced Sunday.

Banda won 40 percent of the vote (718,359 votes) against Sata's 38 percent (683,150 votes) in the race to replace President Levy Mwanawasa, who died after a stroke earlier this year.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia said 45 percent of the country's four million votes went to the polls.

Banda stood for the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy and Sata for the Patriotic Front. Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development won 20 percent of the vote with 353,018 votes, and Godfrey Miyanda of the Heritage Party less than one percent, with 13,683 votes.

Reuters news agency reported that Sata challenged the results as they were being announced Saturday, alleging he was being cheated out of victory for the second successive presidential election. The agency quoted a Patriotic Front spokesman as saying there were discrepancies between voting figures and the number of registered voters.

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