The United Party for National Development (UPND) will not petition the election results despite citing a number of electoral malpractices by some parties that participated in the election adding that the petition is a waste of time.

Party president Hakainde Hichilema says the party will now concentrate on providing alternative leadership by formulating policies that can help address challenges the country is faced with.

Mr. Hichilema said his party will also continue to prepare for the 2011 presidential and parliamentary elections.

He described the just-ended presidential polls as the most competitive and exciting elections the country has ever had.

Mr. Hichilima has also thanked Zambians for voting peacefully in the tightly contested polls in which MMD’s presidential candidate Rupiah Banda emerged winner.

He has however expressed concern about the low voter turn out which was attributed to voter apathy among registered voters.

Speaking during a media briefing the opposition party leader also commended the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) for facilitating the October 30 polls professionally despite the pressure on the commission.

He has however called upon government to consider funding ECZ to enable the commission continue carrying out voter registration throughout the country.

He said this will help increase voter turn out once the country is holding an election and ensure a majority vote.

And Mr. Hichilema has disclosed that his party has written to the ECZ on alleged malpractices in the just-ended presidential by election.

And UPND vice president Richard Kapita said the just ended presidential elections provided an opportunity for the party to market its presidential candidate for the 2011 polls.

He said the party has resolved maintain the candidature of Mr. Hichilema because he has become more popular in the country.

ZANIS/CM/AM/ENDS

By Mingeli Palata

It is a fresh and new week, pretty different from last week’s campaigns, energy and enthusiasm; at least Zambians had something on their minds that kept them away from their poverty. Zambia voted and a new president has been elected. Rupiah Bwezani Banda is Zambia’s fourth. Hate it or love it!

Yes the election is done and over with but there are a lot of issues that have come out in this election that merit our serious consideration.

Everybody agrees that this has been a tight race, very close. The voting patterns are not so different from what most us had predicted. Michael Sata claims his own along the line of rail plus the Northern and Luapula provinces, Hikainde gets his Southern province, Rupiah wins Eastern, Central Western and North Western provinces. Yes not so different from the 2006 election.

Notice how easy it was for any political strategist to predict the results or the voting pattern in a similar vein it doesn’t take a pundit to see that Zambians voted on regional lines. As expected the easterners went yako ni yako, the Northern and Luapula provinces went for their own Sata and the Southern province maintained their default voting pattern. Of course there may have been some who voted purely on competence but the dynamics of rural politics all point to regionalism in the voting pattern. This comrades is a very vicious reality. Regionalism or any form of tribalism is detrimental to national development and risks disturbing the much talked about peace that our beloved country enjoys.

From regionalism, another issue that has re-surfaced in this election is the divide between the rural and urban votes and this has been the trend in most African countries, talk of Kenya, Zimbabwe and now Zambia. In any given election that has taken place in the last 15 years, the urban population has gone for the opposition while the rural population has voted for the ruling party. This is the trend, did you notice? For me this shows that the urban population are not satisfied with the way the ruling party have been governing this country. The urban voters are not happy and this is a big failure on the part of government or the ruling party; they have lost the urban vote in three elections in not more than 10 years.

Fine, you can talk about the country having registered a 5% annual economic growth rate, having reduced inflation and so forth but the question is how that translates to the common man. The people in Kanyama and Mwanabombwe don’t care about the inflation; they don’t care about 5% economic growth, what is 5% economic growth when they are buying mealie meal at K50, 000.00 per bag? What is inflation below 10% when every time they get on a bus the fare is increased? All the much chorused economic gains the country has made don’t mean a thing if the average pay is K300, 000.00 per month and the minimum standard of living is rated at K1, 800, 000.00 if not even higher.

Education is illusive for many, the two universities cannot accommodate the demand and the available private schools are too expensive for the common man. Graduates have been reduced to corporate kaponyas moving around the streets of Cairo road and doing briefcase businesses. They are no jobs in Zambia. No jobs. Most of my colleagues some of whom are reading this article have been reduced to doing jobs abroad that they otherwise wouldn’t have done back home.

In my view, this explains the voting pattern visa-vies the divide between the urban and rural votes. Our colleagues in the rural areas don’t feel the pinch of a capitalist economy or is it that their conditions are subject to manipulation by fraudulent politicians? While the urban voters have access to LusakaTimes, the rural voters have to rely on government controlled media to know what is happening and the truth is that any media will only tell you what they want you to know. It’s really issues of information and the sugar. The dynamics of rural politics are very different from urban politics. In the rural areas it’s mostly what the chief says and who distributes the most sugar. I had visitors from Chipata a week before the elections and I took the time to ask them who they were going to vote for and they told ‘kaili amfumu anena kale’ in an apparent reference to an instruction given to them by the local chief to vote for Rupiah Banda.

Development is relative to the situation. What urban voters see as issues very differently from rural voters and that is one thing the MMD knows very well.

Moving on, the voting pattern also raises questions about capitalism. If you look at the Sata vote; you will realise that it is more of protest vote than anything. Sata has a very simple message; ‘I want to empower you economically’. Is it time for Africans to begin rethinking wealth distribution? Is it time we tried to regulate the economy more to spread wealth to everyone?

Sata’s message is not ideologically different from that of Robert Mugabe, they both are saying that it is time we Africans became a little selfish and enjoyed some economic power. Like the cliché saying goes’ who so ever has the money has the power’. If you give investors 3 years tax exemption then why don’t you do the same to the local investors? The truth is that Zambians are over taxed well over three times. Think about it! The government cries of not having money but one thing they don’t realise is that there is a huge informal sector out there which is not taxed. Why? Because the taxes are high so people don’t register their businesses? The best way to widen the tax base is to reduce tax and provide an environment that will help grow local industry. Then you will have more money to build school. Simple.

Perhaps it’s time for Africans to begin implementing economic policies that favour us and not the west. Economic policies are models, there are other models, and Americans have their own models which has plunged them into the crises they are in. Why don’t we seek models we can benefit from? The thing is the current economic policies favour either foreigners or the rich few, nothing for a poor me living in Kabwata. There is need for us to seriously re-consider and find ways of creating an environment in which all Zambians can be wealthy. Maybe then, the urban voter will rejoice when they hear our economy has grown by 5%.

MMD Presidential Candidate, Rupiah Banda, has been sworn in as Zambia’s fourth Republican President.

Mr. Banda took oath before Chief Justice Ernest Sakala at a colorful ceremony held at the parliament buildings in Lusaka on Sunday afternoon.

The swearing in ceremony was also attended by foreign dignitaries, who included presidents Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Malawi’s Mbingu Wamutharika and Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa.

Former presidents, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda and Dr. Frederick Chiluba were also part of the several guests that attended the ceremony.

MMD supporters clad in their party colours sung and danced to celebrate their victory in an election which

was tightly contested.

And in his inaugural speech, Mr. Banda called for unity in the country and extended an olive branch to losing candidates, especially Patriotic Front leader, Michael Sata.

Mr. Sata has rejected the results of the election claiming the poll was flawed.

Mr. Banda stressed the need for unity after Thursday’s presidential election, saying he does not want to govern a divided nation.

He said the election should unite the Country for the common good of citizens.

In his speech, has pledged to fight poverty and transform Zambia into a middle income nation.

President Banda who spoke shortly after he took oath as Zambia’s fourth President, observed that many Zambians have been excluded in the sharing the Country’s economic prosperity.

He described poverty as demeaning and an unnecessary evil.

The president said he is determined to empower Zambians through education and employment creation during his reign.

President Banda also pledged to transform Zambia into the hub of Southern Africa.

He further stated that he will continue the fight against corruption and observe the rule of law.

Today’s Scripture

Jesus replied, “It is written, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only Him'” (Luke 4:8).

Today’s Word from Joel and Victoria

Jesus was in the desert to pray. He’d been fasting. He was alone and probably weak in His body. Along comes Satan to offer Him an easy way out of going to the cross. “You can gain the world by letting me give it to you. Why don’t you take the easy way out?” the devil was saying. But Jesus knew that the mission wasn’t just to gain the world. He knew that the real victory was to gain the world and defeat temptation, death, hell, and the grave. There was no “easy way out” of that!

Notice how Jesus answered. Each time Satan would tempt Him, Jesus responded by saying, “It is written…” Jesus fought the enemy with the Word of God. The Word of God is your weapon. When you feel the pressure of temptation, when you feel like giving in, when you think you’re not going to make it, fight those negative, self-defeating thoughts by declaring the Word of God. Declare, “I am strong in the Lord and in the power of His might! No weapon formed against me shall prosper. I am an overcomer through Christ who strengthens me.” Speak the Word, and allow Him to lead you on the path of victory!

A Prayer for Today

Father in heaven, thank You for the power of Your Word. I declare that I am filled with Your strength and hope because I choose to honor You in everything I do. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Joel Osteen ministries

Acting vice president Rupiah Banda will be declared the winner of the presidential by election today after taking the lead for the first time since the presidential poll results were first released by the Electoral Commission of Zambia on Friday.

The results so far showed Mr Banda with 708,683 votes versus 682,171 for Michael Sata, the leader of the opposition Patriotic Front. The count was based on results from 148 of 150 constituencies.

With two constituencies remaining, Mr Sata is unlikely to gain many votes to overhaul the gap as both of the constituencies are in the ruling MMD’s strongholds.

But the PF have not conceded defeat. They have announced that they would be asking the court for a complete recount due to discrepancies between voter tallies and registration lists.

Michael Sata on Saturday morning stormed the Electoral Commission of Zambia election results center claiming Thursday’s presidential poll had been rigged.

Mr. Sata, who was visibly angry accused the ECZ of releasing inflated figures.

He alleged that constituencies in Eastern Province can not have 75 percent turnout when the poll has been characterised by apathy.

“I have evidence that results are being inflated. They cheated me in 2006 and they want to do the same,” Sata said.

Most regional bodies have declared the elections free, transparent and fair

Two African regional bodies have declared the October 30 presidential election free and fair.

In their Preliminary reports the African Union Election observer mission and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa COMESA- say the election was held in a free and peaceful environment.

AU observer mission team leader, Anil Gaya, says the election took place in a peaceful atmosphere in which voters were able to cast their votes without intimidation.

Mr. Gaya said the Electoral Commission of Zambia-ECZ- organized an efficiently run election.

He said the Presidential election was in conformity with the declaration of the AU principles governing democratic elections in Africa.

And COMESA Observer mission leader, Johnson Wa Binana said the election was held in a peaceful manner.

Mr. Wa Binana also called on Zambians to remain peaceful and united.

Also The Electoral Institute of Southern Africa-EISA- has observed that the October 30 presidential and parliamentary by-elections were conducted in a transparent manner.

EISA delegation leader, Leshele Thoahlan, says the polls were transparent because Zambians were allowed to freely express their will.

Mr. Thoahlan says the mission hopes that the management and announcement of Presidential results will be handled in the same manner.

He commended the people of Zambia for their peaceful conduct during the election period.

Mr. Thoahlan said this in Lusaka when he released a report on the October 30 polls.

The EISA Observer mission will produce a more comprehensive and final report on the entire electoral process within ninety days.

Heritage party president Brigadier General, Godfrey Miyanda, says the just ended presidential election was free and fair.

General Miyanda says he is satisfied with the manner in which the election has been conducted.

He said anyone disputing the outcome of the results should not resort to violence but seek legal redress.

General Miyanda says it is unfortunate that some leaders are already agitating violence when the final results of the elections have not been released.

He was speaking to reporters at the Electoral Commission of Zambia results centre in Lusaka.

The former Vice President said he would use the results of the elections to prepare for the 2011 general elections.
[ZNBC]

Patriotic front leader, Michael Sata on Saturday morning stormed the Electoral Commission of Zambia election results center claiming Thursday’s presidential poll had been rigged.

Mr. Sata, who was visibly angry accused the ECZ of releasing inflated figures.

He alleged that constituencies in Eastern Province can not have 75 percent turnout when the poll has been characterised by apathy.

Mr. Sata said he was surprised that Acting President, Rupiah Banda is catching up with him in results released so far.

He also accused foreign journalists and international monitors of being biased because they have not portrayed the facts on the ground.

But ECZ Public Relations Manager, Chris Akufuna,said he could not comment on the matter because the PF leader had no facts.

Mr. Akufuna said the commission is just releasing results from constituencies where all parties have representatives.

ZNBC

MMD National Publicity Secretary and Party spokesman Ben Tetamashimba has said that the 62 000 prediction is based on polling station totals which have been posted at each vote station and were in the hands of all political parties.

Mr. Tetamashimba  dismissed the claims by Opposition Patriotic Front as petty.

The wining predictions was also echoed by Akashambatwa Mbikusita-Lewanika who told the foreign media that the MMD were very confident to the extent of being sure of the victory.

The Opposition Patriotic Front described as provocative the pronouncement by MMD national Campaign coordinator, Mbita Chitala, that his party would win the presidential election by 62 thousand votes.

PF Spokersperson, Given Lubinda, condemned Mr Chitala’s remarks which were broadcast on ZNBC 19 hours television news.

He has challenged the MMD campaign team to prove how the party would accumulate the 62 thousand votes projected by Mr. Chitala.

Mr Lubinda was speaking at a press briefing held at 23.30 hours at the Mulungushi Conference centre in Lusaka.

Mr. Lubinda also challenged the MMD to explain the break down of two trucks carrying elections materials in Shangombo as well as the presence of Mr. Vernon Mwaanga in the Northern province at the time of voting.

He has advised PF members to remain vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour in the electoral process

But Electoral Commision of Zambia Public Relations manager, Chris Akufuna, declined to comment on most of the issues raised by the PF but said the commission will investigate the report indicating that their was late voting in Kalabo.

MMD Presidential campaign Chief Executive Officer, Mbita Chitala, says he is confident Acting President, Rupiah Banda, will emerge victorious in Thursday’s election.

Mr. Chitala says the election results have not yet been announced for the MMD’s strong hold, particularly rural areas.

He told ZNBC news that although the MMD has been trailing behind Patriotic Front, Michael Sata,he is confident the ruling party will carry the day.

Mr. Chitala said the remaining constituencies in rural areas will enable Mr. Banda win the election by a wide margin.

And Mr. Chitala is happy with the manner in which the president election has been conducted.

He said the election has been conducted in a peaceful manner.