_WORLD WATCH______________________________
____________________ Zambia ________________

Church fears vote manipulation
Complicated process, few observers
Religious leaders in Zambia complained that the government deliberately scheduled elections on December 27 in order to minimize voter participation and thus ensure a victory for the incumbent regime.

Many thousands of Zambian citizens were traveling immediately after Christmas and unable to reach the polling places where they were registered, the religious leaders observed. For example, students were on vacation and in most cases unable to return to the school towns where they were registered. Election observers from the European Union were also deterred from making the trip to the African country to watch for voting irregularities—since it was quite difficult for anyone who spent Christmas Day at home in Europe to reach Zambia on December 27.

Observers also reported that members of the ruling party had been bribing citizens to relinquish their voter cards—which they would be required to show in order to obtain a ballot. There were also complaints that since the list of eligible voters was not available for public scrutiny, voter cards are being issued for dead people, to be used by party regulars.

With 11 candidates on the presidential ballot for the national elections, the incumbent government needs only a plurality—not a majority—to remain in power. A reduced voter turnout would therefore make it easier for those in power to retain their positions. Analysts estimated that the government would be able to retain power with a few as 200,000 votes—although there are 10 million people in the country.

The complications created by the crowded ballot—and exacerbated by a series of snafus in the voting process—caused a significant delay in the announcement of election results. As CWR went to press in mid-January, the final tallies were still not available.

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