ZAMBIA: LEADERS OF ZAMBIA'S MAIN OPPOSITION PARTIES DEMAND THAT THE COUNTRY'S CHIEF JUSTICE BLOCK THE SWEARING-IN CEREMONY OF THE NEW PRESIDENT
Record ID:
584736
ZAMBIA: LEADERS OF ZAMBIA'S MAIN OPPOSITION PARTIES DEMAND THAT THE COUNTRY'S CHIEF JUSTICE BLOCK THE SWEARING-IN CEREMONY OF THE NEW PRESIDENT
- Title: ZAMBIA: LEADERS OF ZAMBIA'S MAIN OPPOSITION PARTIES DEMAND THAT THE COUNTRY'S CHIEF JUSTICE BLOCK THE SWEARING-IN CEREMONY OF THE NEW PRESIDENT
- Date: 30th December 2001
- Summary: (U4)LUSAKA, ZAMBIA (DECEMBER 30, 2001) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. LV/SV CROWDS OF OPPOSITION PARTY SUPPORTERS PROTESTING OUTSIDE SUPREME COURT (5 SHOTS) 0.23 2. CU/SV/SLV OF ARMED SECURITY AT SUPREME COURT GATES (4 SHOTS) 0.39 3. SLV CHIEF JUSTICE MATTHEW NGULUBE ARRIVING AT SUPREME COURT 0.53 4. CU SIGN FOR CHIEF JUSTICE'S OFFICE 0.55 5. SLV LINE OF OPPOSITION LEADERS WALKING INTO CHIEF JUSTICE'S OFFICES 1.01 6. CU PICTURES OF FORMER CHIEF JUSTICES 1.05 7. CU SIGN SAYING "CHIEF JUSTICE'S SECRETARY 1.07 8. SV/SLV OPPOSITION LEADERS SITTING AMONG THEM UNITED PARTY FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT'S (UPND's) ANDERSON MAZOKA (4 SHOTS) 1.20 9. MCU CROWD SINGING PRO-MAZOKA SONGS 1.28 10. SV OF ARMED SECURITY FORCES IN TRUCK (2 SHOTS) 1.40 11. SV OPPOSITION LEADERS LEAVING SUPREME COURT BUILDING 1.46 12. MCU (English) UNITED PARTY FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (UPND) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ANDERSON MAZOKA SAYING: "There are a lot of issues that we have discussed but fundamentally it's the rigging and where the law has been ignored. The electoral process has been ignored and people are putting in their own procedures." 2.05 13. SLV/MCU JOURNALISTS CARTER CENTER OBSERVERS PRESS CONFERENCE (2 SHOTS) 2.12 14. MCU (English) FORMER NIGERIAN PRESIDENT AND CARTER CENTER OBSERVER ABDULSALAMI ABUBAKAR SAYING: "The Carter Center observed misuse of state resources, lack of enforcement mechanisms for the electoral code of conduct, unbalanced media reporting, among others." 2.38 15. MCU PANEL WATCHING (2 SHOTS) 2.46 16. MCU (English) ABUBAKAR SAYING: "As an African who has a stake in peace and democracy in Africa I commend the Zambians for their resilience and please urge them to maintain the peace in their country. Africa has had enough of political upheavals." 3.13 17. SLV OF CARTER CENTER OFFICIALS 3.16 18. SLV/CU/SV OF ELECTORAL COMMISSION OFFICERS TAKING IN VOTE RESULTS BY FAX (3 SHOTS) 3.30 19. SV/CU OF ELECTION RESULTS ON ELECTRONIC BOARD (2 SHOTS) 3.37 20. SV/SLV RESULTS MONITORS SLEEPING WHILE WAITING FOR RESULTS TO COME IN (3 SHOTS) 3.50 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 14th January 2002 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LUSAKA, ZAMBIA
- Country: Zambia
- Reuters ID: LVA4GGI4LGSUOH5UGO752FJKTO0R
- Story Text: Leaders of Zambia's main opposition parties -- siting
irregularities in election and voting procedures -- have
joined forces to demand that the country's chief justice block
the swearing-in ceremony of the new president.
Hundreds of opposition party supporters, wearing their
party colours and singing party songs gathered outside the
Supreme Court buildings in the Zambian capital Lusaka early on
Sunday (December 30) morning.
Disgruntled at the manner in which the election vote
counting proceedings have been conducted and long delay in the
arrival and release of the official final poll results, they
demanded that the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy
(MMD) government accept defeat, step down and install a new
president immediately.
The allegations have raised tensions in the
copper-mining state, where outgoing President Frederick
Chiluba and the MMD have been widely blamed for graft,
economic mismanagement and reviving divisive tribalism.
One by one the leaders of the opposition parties arrived
at the Supreme court. They had called for an urgent meeting
with Zambia's chief justice Matthew Ngulube.
The 10 parties want Ngulube to investigate reports that
in some areas the number of declared votes exceeded that of
registered voters and in others extra ballot boxes appeared
long after counting in the southern African state had been
completed.
Opposition leader Anderson Mazoka, who holds a narrow
lead in the presidential poll, said: "There are a lot of
issues that we have discussed but fundamentally it's the
rigging and where the law has been ignored. The electoral
process has been ignored and people are putting in their own
procedures."
United Party for National development (UPND) candidate
Anderson Mazoka who -- from the results in from 92 out of 150
constituencies so far counted has a slight but clear lead for
the presidency has been leading the opposition coalition
protest.
Latest results from the Commission gave Mazoka 337,640
votes against 315,064 for the MMD's Levy Mwanawasa, Chiluba's
chosen heir.
The opposition leaders claim the MMD in power for a
decade and blamed for widespread corruption and mismanagement
is delaying in releasing the election results because they are
trying to rig the results.
"There are a lot of issues that we have discussed but
fundamentally it's the rigging and where the law has been
ignored. The electoral process has been ignored and people are
putting in their own procedures," said businessman Mazoka, who
has declared himself the winner of the presidential seat.
The opposition received a major boost on Sunday when
former Nigerian military ruler General Abdulsalami Abubakar,
who is heading observers from the U.S. Carter Center,
supported some reports of intimidation of voters.
"The Carter Center observed misuse of state resources,
lack of enforcement mechanisms for the electoral code of
conduct, unbalanced media reporting, among others," he told a
news conference.
He however made a plea to the Zambian people to keep
calm and maintain the peace: "As an African who has a stake in
peace and democracy in Africa I commend the Zambians for their
resilience and please urge them to maintain the peace in their
country. Africa has had enough of political upheavals," he
said.
Even at this very late stage results from the
outstanding 58 constituencies are still coming into the
electoral commission offices. The fax machines set up to
collect vote results are struggling to cope.
It is now unclear whether the installation ceremony for
Zambia's new president, pushed back from the weekend, will
still go ahead as planned.
Final results in the closest-fought presidential and
parliamentary elections since landlocked Zambia's independence
from Britain in 1964 are due on Tuesday (January 1), and the
swearing-in of the new president has been scheduled for
Wednesday (January 2).
Results from 69 of the 150 elected parliamentary seats
showed 29 had gone to the MMD, 22 to the UPND, eight to the
United National Independence Party, six to the FDD, two to the
Heritage Party and one to the Zambia Republican Party.
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