Zambia election result challenged by opposition

Opposition leaders in Zambia vowed yesterday to take their fight against the results of the country's knife-edge presidential election to the Supreme Court after Levy Mwanawasa, the ruling party candidate was sworn in.

The High Court turned down the opposition's appeal for claims of electoral fraud to be investigated before the inauguration and Zambia's chief justice declared the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) candidate the winner by 35,000 votes over Anderson Mazoka of the United Party for National Development.

Zambia, a normally peaceful country, has already been rocked by clashes between riot police and opposition protesters, enraged by what they believe is a stolen electoral victory.

Mr Mwanawasa, protected by 1,000 police, said at his inaugural ceremony: "The opposition leaders are putting this country in chaos, they are bringing despondency ... If anyone transgresses against the law, I will ensure that the law visits him. The stone throwing that has been going on in this country must stop now. If it continues, then I am not the President."

The opposition claims that the MMD used delays in vote counting to stuff ballot boxes and interfere with the count. The MMD denies infringements, and blames the delay on logistical problems and a high voter turn-out – 80 per cent of 2.6 million registered voters.

Yesterday, Peter Chitengi, a High Court judge, turned down a petition by opposition parties for a vote recount. He said the case was premature and the High Court had no jurisdiction to stop the government declaring a winner.

The judge added, though, that the case had merit and could be pursued in the Supreme Court. Under the constitution, the legitimacy of a president can be challenged 14 days after his inauguration.

International and local election observers said they had noted some irregularities in the voting process. Michael Meadowcroft, the head of the European Union's monitoring team, said the polls were flawed. "There are clear, glaring irregularities and there is no way we can run away from this."

But the new President denounced the EU monitors. "The EU says the electoral process was flawed, that the playing field was not even," he said in his speech.

"I am certain that once their chosen party was losing, they say the playing field is not even. They cannot promote democracy by promoting anarchy in this country," he said.

The EU spent $5.4m (£3.7m) on voter education and other programmes to promote a free and fair election.

Opposition leaders have vowed to fight the results through the courts and on the streets. Wary of a repeat of Tuesday's violence, owners kept their shops shut. The government closed the University of Zambia campus indefinitely, fearing student protests.

Supporters were prevented by police from approaching the inauguration at the court buildings in the capital, Lusaka, the site of clashes between police and protesters on Tuesday. Mr Mazoka, a businessman, has declared himself president and his supporters have threatened to take to the streets. An unprecedented 11 candidates competed for the presidency and about 70 per cent of the vote went to the opposition.

Christon Tembo, the head of the Forum for Democracy and Development, told reporters: "We have been left with no choice but to mobilise our people throughout the country and intensify protests".

Bishop John Mambo, who leads the Southern and Central Africa Church, said the tight security around the inauguration preventing him from attending. He said: "Instead of rejoicing and welcoming the new President, what I saw today was that people were mourning. Before the situation gets worse Mwanawasa should immediately address the concerns."

While there are rumours of ballot rigging, there is also growing popular disenchantment with a government accused of mismanagement and corruption in the decade since Frederick Chiluba toppled the dictatorial Kenneth Kuanda.

Dr Greg Mills, director of the Institute of International Affairs in Johannesburg, said: "There is nothing new or alarming about election wrangling – it can happen in southern Africa or in Florida. In fact, challenges can be positive as they indicate that an election process is fairly transparent."

He added: "Certainly, Zambia has clearly illustrated that Africans no longer take fiddled elections lying down and are increasingly acting against leaders who exploit power."

Legal challenges could turn out to be the least of Mr Mwanawasa's problems.

There are questions over his health because of a car crash in 1993 that rendered his speech slurred and his independence limited. Also, Mr Mwanawasa, a 53-year-old lawyer, quit in 1994 as the outgoing President Chiluba's vice-president amid complaints of government corruption.