General Election Who's Who

Zambians are scheduled to cast their votes on 27 December in general elections that will mark the end of a decade in power for President Frederick Chiluba. It will be the third time since single-party rule ended in 1991 that the country goes to the polls. Chiluba, constitutionally limited to two terms in office, will hand over to one of 11 candidates expected to join the race for the republican presidency. There were five candidates in the last poll in 1996. This time around, some 15 parties are expected to take part in simultaneous parliamentary and local elections. In another sense, however, the election may be the least successful in the country's 37-year history. Only 2.6 million of the country's estimated 3.6 million eligible citizens registered to vote – roughly the same number that registered in 1996, when the voting population was smaller. And, unless voter behaviour has changed over the past five years, a good number of those who registered will not actually cast their ballots. In 1996, only 1.19 million of the 2.3 million people who registered actually voted. Of those votes, only 1.14 million were valid. With this year's elections scheduled for the peak of the wet season, when parts of the country are usually cut off by flooding, the number of people who will actually vote may be lower than in 1996. The fact that the polls will be held in the middle of the festive season, when people traditionally take annual leave - many of them outside their polling areas - will not help matters either. However, not all the parties and candidates are serious contenders. Several of the parties are less than six months old, having been established by former members of the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) who joined the ranks of the opposition in protest against an unconstitutional third-term bid by Chiluba early this year. Perhaps only five of the contending presidential candidates – the MMD's Levy Mwanawasa, the Forum for Democracy and Development's (FDD) Christon Tembo, the United Party for National Development's (UPND) Anderson Mazoka, the Heritage Party's Godfrey Miyanda and the United National Independence Party's (UNIP) Tilyeni Kaunda - are serious contenders. The following is a brief look at the main candidates: Levy Mwanawasa - MMD: The first vice president in Chiluba's first cabinet in 1991, Mwanawasa is a Lusaka-based lawyer with a thriving practice. He returned to active politics three months ago, when he was named the ruling party's presidential candidate by its central decision-making organ, the national executive committee. Mwanawasa retired from the Chiluba cabinet in 1993, citing rampant corruption in the government as the reason for his decision. He subsequently challenged Chiluba in a poll for the MMD presidency and lost. Until his adoption as the MMD presidential candidate, he had all but retired from active politics. While the MMD has a well-defined manifesto, which embraces political and economic liberalisation, Mwanawasa appears to have his own agenda, which includes a reversal of the freemarket economic reforms effected by the MMD government. For example, he plans to reintroduce exchange controls and revive loss-making parastatals that closed under liberalisation. He has also promised to be tough on corruption. Perhaps his main weakness is the widely held perception that he never fully recovered from a nearly fatal road accident in 1991, during which he sustained head injuries. This perception is reinforced by his often-incoherent speech and memory lapses. His opponents have nicknamed him, the "cabbage" – a tag that has captured the popular imagination. Christon Tembo - FDD: Also served as Chiluba's vice president until he resigned, along with several other members of the cabinet, to oppose Chiluba's third term bid. Earlier, he served as Chiluba's tourism minister and, earlier still, as Zambia army commander in the 1980s until he was arrested and charged with treason for purportedly plotting a coup against former president Kenneth Kaunda. The state dropped the case when Kaunda "forgave" him and other suspected plotters. The FDD has maintained many of the policies its leaders helped the MMD to refine, but pledges to be better on delivery and more active against corruption than the MMD. Godfrey Miyanda - Heritage Party: Another former vice president in the Chiluba government and an ex-general, he subsequently served as Chiluba's education minister. Miyanda was also dismissed from the army by Kaunda for involvement in the alleged coup plot. Miyanda was among members of the cabinet who resigned to oppose Chiluba's third term bid. A professed born-again Christian, Miyanda's campaign has revolved around the values of morality and integrity. His economic policies are anchored on what he calls "the village concept" – economic revival driven by small-scale agriculture and rural development. Anderson Mazoka - UPND: The former chief executive of Anglo-American Corporation in Zambia, Mazoka also served as chairman on the boards of directors of over 30 companies. He formed the UPND after the ruling MMD rejected him (He tried to join the party’s official ranks by running for a local government seat in Lusaka, which he won – but the party nullified the result of the election). Mazoka believes in the freemarket, but has pledged to review aspects of the government's controversial structural adjustment programme if he assumes office. He has also promised to reintroduce free education and medical services for the poor. Tilyenji Kaunda - UNIP: A son of former president Kenneth Kaunda, he was virtually unknown in Zambia until a few months ago, having spent many years running businesses in neighbouring Zimbabwe. Kaunda was moved to join active politics after an older brother, Wezi, who was a key figure in UNIP, was assassinated in the late 1990s. Kaunda's ascension to the UNIP party leadership was irregular. After he expressed an interest in contesting the republican presidency, the party's national central committee suspended the then party president, Francis Nkhoma, for purported indiscipline. The party subsequently expelled Nkhoma and made Kaunda party president in his place. Kaunda retains many of the socialist policies that his father introduced when he was the country's first president at independence in 1964 right up until defeat by Chiluba in 1991.