News Africa Extended

News Africa Extended

Zambian man held for snatching ballot papers

Posted: 12 Aug 2016 12:01 PM PDT

A man who snatched three ballot papers and bolted from a poling station in the Lusaka area has been arrested.

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Gaborone – The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) on Friday announced the arrest of a man who snatched three ballot papers and bolted from a poling station in the Lusaka area.

In a statement the ECZ said the man was apprehended by police officers who gave chase as he bolted from a polling station in the John Laing area of the capital on Thursday.

“The Commission has received a report that an individual from the John Laing obtained three ballot papers from the polling station and ran out of the polling station with them. He was chased after by uniformed staff and he was apprehended and is in police custody,” the ECZ said.

The commission also reported one incident of politically-motivated violence which took place outside the Kamwala polling station in Lusaka between supporters of incumbent President Edgar Lungu’s Patriotic Front (PF) and the main opposition party, the United Party for National Development (UPND).

The ECZ confirmed that some polling officers were disenfranchised because they did not know where to get certificates of authority to vote outside the constituencies where they are registered as voters.

“The Commission notes with regret that some officers did not know where to get the Certificate of authority to vote. They were supposed to get them from constituencies where they are registered to vote. However, they applied for the certificates at the centres where they were posted on duty. In some cases, officers made last minute applications, which made it very difficult for them to be attended to,” the ECZ said.

The Commission dismissed allegations of multiple voting and said it had found no evidence to prove social media allegations that a presiding officer at the Ngwerere Basic School in Lusaka prevented more than 2 000 people from exercising their right to vote.

However, it confirmed that some people were not allowed to vote when they turned up at the Vera Chiluba Basic School polling station after the close of voting at 6pm on Thursday evening.

African News Agency

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Zambia awaits election result after tense campaign

Posted: 12 Aug 2016 03:45 AM PDT

Zambians waited on Friday for presidential election results that may trigger disputes after violence-tinged campaigns.

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Lusaka, Zambia - Zambians waited on Friday for presidential election results that may trigger disputes after a violence-tinged campaign by the two leading candidates in a country usually known for relative stability.

Polling day on Thursday was peaceful, after weeks of clashes between rival supporters of President Edgar Lungu's Patriotic Front (PF) and Hakainde Hichilema's United Party for National Development (UPND).

The turnout was high, election officials said, as voters formed long queues to cast their ballots for the national assembly and local councillors as well as the presidency.

Lungu, who narrowly won office in a snap election last year, faced another strong challenge from wealthy businessman Hichilema in a field of nine candidates.

Fewer than 28,000 votes separated the two candidates in the 2015 ballot.

Early results were expected later on Friday, with the complete tally due out by Sunday.

Constitutional changes mean that the winner must now secure more than 50 percent of the vote, pointing to a possible second round run-off.

"The counting of votes is ongoing in polling stations countrywide," electoral commission director Priscilla Isaac said at a briefing.

"The commission wishes to reiterate that all election results appearing on social platforms are unofficial (and) continues to call for calm and peace until the whole process is concluded."

At least three people were killed during the campaign, with regular clashes erupting between PF and UPND activists.

The commission earlier stated that the unrest was "unprecedented" and had "marred Zambia's historic record of peaceful elections".

Last month, campaigning in the capital Lusaka was halted for 10 days in a bid to reduce the violence.

But the skirmishes continued, including fighting in the streets near Hichilema's final election rally.

Hichilema has previously claimed that fraud denied him victory last year.

And this year, he charged that his campaign was suppressed by the authorities banning rallies, arresting party leaders and through biased state media coverage.

Zambia, a British colony until 1964, recorded GDP growth of 3.6 percent last year -- its slowest rate since 1998.

The falling price of copper, the country's key export, has badly damaged the economy with thousands of jobs lost in mining and inflation soaring to over 20 percent.

"The people of Zambia... have never suffered like this since independence," Hichilema, 54, known as "HH", told reporters after he voted.

Zambia, in contrast to neighbours like Angola and Zimbabwe, has escaped war and serious upheaval in recent decades.

It last held a peaceful transfer of power to an opposition party in 2011 when Michael Sata took office.

Sata died in 2014, and the 2015 election gave Lungu the right to finish his term.

"I will be back home waiting for the results to be announced peacefully. I urge you to do the same," Lungu, 59, said in a statement after voting.

An EU monitoring team, which had 120 observers on duty across Zambia, is due to give its first assessment of the election on Saturday.

Analysts have warned that the election count could be tense.

"Both parties have approached the election as a 'do-or-die' affair," said Dimpho Motsamai, of the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies.

"Prospects of violence after the election and during the run-off cannot be ruled out."

The election also included a constitutional referendum on amending the bill of rights.

AFP

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Zimbabwe protest pastor to take #ThisFlag to US

Posted: 12 Aug 2016 12:16 AM PDT

Zimbabwe's Pastor Evan Mawarire says he is travelling to the US to consider his next move. [VIDEO]

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Harare - A Zimbabwe pastor who became the figurehead of recent demonstrations against President Robert Mugabe's government said on Thursday that he is travelling to the US to meet compatriots there and consider his next move.

Evan Mawarire, founder of a protest campaign dubbed "ThisFlag", was detained last month for allegedly trying to overthrow the state, but a court dropped charges against him.

After his release he travelled to South Africa, where he has been living and meeting with fellow Zimbabweans until leaving for the US.

"I am going to the USA. I am meeting some citizens over there...and to take time to think what will be my next move," Mawarire said in a video message posted on Facebook.

"Our power is in our unity, our power is in the fact that each Zimbabwean has decided to rise up".

The 39-year-old evangelical priest urged his compatriots to keep holding government to account and not rely on his leadership alone to pressure the government.

He called on Zimbabweans to stand up against "poor governance, corruption, theft of money and misgovernance".

Mawarire has steered clear of political affiliation and has avoided criticising Mugabe directly, repeatedly appealing for Zimbabweans to protest peacefully.

But Zimbabwe's veteran leader has publicly denounced the popular pastor.

Earlier this week, Mugabe accused his opponents, including Mawarire, of trying to topple him through protest, "like in the Arab countries".

The government has also accused western governments of being behind the recent wave of protests against Mugabe's government.

AFP

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