ZAMBIA: Zambian police fire tear gas and arrest 70 opposition supporters in Lusaka as President Levy Mwanawasa widens his lead in an election the main challenger labels a "conspiracy" to rig the vote

Police armed with guns and batons sprayed tear gas to disperse around 100 supporters of opposition leader Michael Sata who gathered outside the main vote counting centre, wielding placards with slogans such as "Mwanawasa you will not get it". "We are not going to allow the election to be stolen," yelled one supporter of Sata, who had looked set to trounce Mwanawasa but slid to third place as the incumbent surged ahead in the count on Sunday (October 1), three days after polling. Sata, who has pledged to spread Zambia's copper wealth and get tough on Chinese investors, has protested over 400,000 alleged missing ballots, and has warned of "severe consequences" if his complaint is ignored. Police said 71 supporters were arrested, detained and charged with "conduct likely to breach the peace". Results on Sunday indicated Mwanawasa -- who has been praised by international donors for his economic policies but lacks Sata's appeal among the poor -- had widened his lead, pushing Sata into third place behind wealthy businessman Hakainde Hichilema. "There is a conspiracy whereby they (Mwanawasa's ruling party and the electoral commission) want to push Hichilema into second place," Sata, nicknamed "King Cobra", told a private radio station. Members of an elite paramilitary unit patrolled the main business district on Sunday while others took up positions at the privately owned Post newspaper, where supporters of Sata staged a protest on Saturday (September 30). Partial results from the electoral commission gave Mwanawasa 42 percent of votes counted, compared to 28 percent for Hichilema of the United Democratic Alliance and 27 percent for Sata, of the Patriotic Front. The results covered 120 of 150 constituencies and 2.26 million of some 4 million Zambians registered to vote. Sata said the commission's figures did not tally with the numbers his party's observers had recorded and that 400,000 votes had disappeared or been spoiled. Zambians are long used to accusations of vote fraud -- most recently in the 2001 elections that brought Mwanawasa to power. Mwanawasa, 58, is running for a second and final five-year term based on his economic record, which included winning billions of dollars in debt relief and boosting economic growth above 5 percent. Sata, 69, has appealed to poorer classes with his pledges of wealth distribution and tax cuts. Even though Zambia is one of the world's major copper producers, more than two-thirds of the population live on less than $1 a day. Electoral Commission of Zambia Chairwoman Ireen Mambilima said officials were checking votes in one constituency after complaints from Sata and Hichilema but did not comment on Sata's wider protest. The electoral commission was praised by international observers for an efficient and transparent election, but has now come under criticism for its slowness to release results.

ITN Source | October 2, 2006

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