Zambia - 2006 Election
Zambia is a republic governed by a president and a unicameral national assembly with a population of 11.5 million. On September 28, President Levy Mwanawasa, candidate of the ruling Movement for Multi Party Democracy (MMD), was re-elected; the MMD won 72 out of 150 elected seats in the National Assembly. On October 26, MMD candidates won two more seats in the National Assembly in elections that were delayed due to the deaths of candidates during the campaign period for the general elections. Domestic and international observer groups characterized the election as generally peaceful and transparent; however, they cited several irregularities. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
The government's human rights record remained poor; although there were improvements in a few areas. Human rights problems included: election irregularities; unlawful killings; torture, beatings, and abuse of criminal suspects and detainees by security forces; poor and life threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrests and prolonged detention; long delays in trials; arbitrary interference with privacy; restrictions on freedom of speech and press, and intimidation of journalists; restrictions on assembly and association; government corruption and impunity; violence and discrimination against women; child abuse; trafficking in persons; discrimination against persons with disabilities; and limited enforcement of labor rights and child labor laws.
In a fiercely contested presidential election in September 2006, Mwanawasa won a second term substantially increasing his share of the votes to 43%. Michael Sata of the Patriotic Front came second with 29% of the votes; Hakainde Hichilema of United Democratic Alliance came third with 25%. In the simultaneous parliamentary elections Mwanawasa’s MMD gained 72 seats and with the eight nominated members a narrow overall majority over the Patriotic Front (46 seats) and the United Democratic Alliance (27).
Five political parties contested the presidential elections. There were instances of unfair campaign and electoral practices; however, domestic and international observers characterized the electoral process as transparent and peaceful. Observers gave the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) high marks for its role in organizing the elections, particularly with regard to voter registration and education; however, some members of the public were not able to register to vote because the government did not efficiently issue National Registration Cards, which were required for registration. Civil society groups also criticized the ECZ's failure to establish a special vote for domestic monitors and others unable to vote at designated polling stations and charged that parties and candidates had uneven access to electronic and print media. In addition, the lack of regulations governing campaign finance resulted in an uneven playing field for contestants.
Following the vote, there were reported problems with the counting, tabulation, and reconciliation of ballot that undermined confidence in the results of the elections. The problems were attributed to inadequate training for election officials, compounded by poorly designed and unnecessarily complicated return forms. There were also problems with the system for the electronic transmission of results, which the ECZ was forced to abandon in favor of faxing or physically delivering results to Lusaka. The difficulties with the management of election results supported suspicions that the elections were rigged, fueling riots by supporters of opposition candidate Michael Sata in Lusaka and in cities in Copperbelt Province.
In the four by elections held during the year 2006, there were numerous reports of vote buying and misappropriation of government resources for unfair electoral advantage. For example, in Mporokoso, the vice-president reportedly threatened to discipline public service workers who voted for the opposition. In Milanzi suspected MMD members threw a Molotov cocktail at the vehicle of an opposition MP.
The constitution requires that both parents of a candidate for the office of president be citizens by birth or descent, effectively discriminating against potential candidates based on their parentage. The constitution also prohibits traditional chiefs from running for political office unless they resign from their chieftainships.
There were 22 women elected to parliament in the September 28 elections. On October 9, the president appointed two more women to parliament.
In December 2005 the Constitution Review Commission released its final draft constitution. The government had taken no steps to change the constitution by year's end; however, in May the president signed into law a new electoral act that many civil society groups characterized as a disappointment. The new act disregarded many of the recommendations contained in the 2005 report of the Electoral Reform Technical Committee, including a recommendation that the president be elected by more than 50 percent of the vote and a recommendation that the ECZ be given the authority to set the date for presidential elections to prevent unfair advantage for the president and ruling party.
On May 4, 2007, a British court found former president Chiluba and several others liable in a civil suit for misappropriating as much as $58 million of public resources, but the case has not yet been registered in Zambian courts and enforced. The government's Task Force on Corruption (originally established by former president Mwanawasa) has successfully prosecuted several cases of abuse of office and high-level corruption. In August 2009, and after 8 years, a Zambian magistrate acquitted Chiluba of corruption and the Government of Zambia declined to appeal the acquittal.
In February 2006 the government agreed to allow the formation of a Constituent Assembly to consider and adopt the draft constitution, subject to certain conditions. In August 2007, the Zambian parliament passed a government-sponsored law creating a National Constitutional Conference (NCC) charged with drafting a new constitution. The NCC, which is comprised of over 500 members drawn from parliament, political parties, civil society, and government, began meeting in late December 2007 and has had its mandate extended into 2010. Some members of civil society have refused to participate in the NCC, saying that its membership is too heavily stacked in the government's favor and pushing instead for the promised Constituent Assembly.
President Levy Mwanawasa suffered a stroke in June 2008 and died in August of that year. Vice-President Rupiah Banda became acting president in June 2008 and was sworn in as president in November, shortly after he won the October 2008 presidential by-election with 40.6% of votes.
The Government of Zambia introduced very limited legislative changes to electoral procedures in mid-2006, including an electoral code of conduct and limits on politically-motivated donations and handouts. However, in parliamentary by-elections held in 2009, candidates from all parties violated the code of conduct, and the Electoral Commission of Zambia had insufficient capacity to enforce it.
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