Zambia's longstanding opposition leader, Michael Sata, is being sworn in as the country's president after a hotly contested election which he fought largely on an anti-corruption platform.
Sata, 74, won 43 per cent of the vote against the 36 per cent secured by incumbent Rupiah Banda. A tearful Banda congratulated his rival but counseled humility, warning that a term of government is temporary and that “the next election will judge you also”.
The election was generally peaceful and fair, according to monitors, although there were scattered outbreaks of violence in the capital and a number of mining towns. Some of the unrest was prompted by a media blackout, imposed after hackers posted false results showing a landslide win for Sata on the Election Commission of Zambia's website.
Sata took advantage of widespread dissatisfaction with the reign of Banda, whose Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) had run Zambia for 20 years. Despite ample mineral wealth and a rising economy, material gains have not reached the majority of Zambians. Sata linked the country's poverty with government corruption, accusing the MMD of failing to deliver social and economic progress while pocketing the country's mining revenues.
MMD figures who have defected recently have also taken aim at the government's record on corruption, with one saying that “a lot of plunder” takes place. Banda's abolition of an anti-corruption watchdog in 2009, on the basis that it had failed to achieve sufficient results, also came in for widespread criticism.
Allegations of MMD patronage were used by Sata's Patriotic Front as an election tactic. The party adopted a slogan of “Don't Kubeba”, meaning “Don't tell them” – essentially encouraging Zambians to accept any bribes which the MMD offered them, but to still vote for the Patriotic Front.
Sata himself is not viewed as completely incorruptible, having served as a senior official in the MMD under late president Frederick Chiluba during an era of notorious graft. His election may give hope, however, to ordinary Zambians who have felt held back by corruption and inefficiency in their government.
Sources; BBC, Africa Confidential, Voice of America
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