Zambia

Zambians Elect New President, Hope for Job Creation and Systemic Change

Zambians Elect New President, Hope for Job Creation and Systemic Change

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – Echoes of jubilation filled the city Friday when President Michael Sata, 74, of the Patriotic Front political party was declared the winner of the 2011 presidential election 35 minutes after midnight.

Cars and trucks honked in celebration. Some men walked around with their shirts off, while others danced to music. People displayed banners featuring small boats and paddles, the symbol of the Patriotic Front. Many chanted “Don’t Kubeba,” the party’s slogan during the campaign, which means “Don’t Tell,” referring to supporters’ strategy of not telling anyone they were voting for Sata.

As anxiety mounted during the two days between the vote and the announcement of the final results, citizens expressed relief Friday for the mostly peaceful transition to a new leader.

“We are happy the elections have been peacefully,” says Wilson Kamanga, a businessman, as he walks down the street. “The will of the people has prevailed.”

He says expectations for the new party are high.

“We expect leaders to work for the people,” he says. “They are servants for the people and should maintain peace and unity the country has enjoyed.”

While celebrations erupted around Lusaka, Zambia’s capital, these same streets were empty only days earlier.

Shops were closed, and few people roamed the streets in Kanyama, a compound of Lusaka. Instead, they packed local schools to vote Tuesday in Zambia’s presidential elections. Long queues of people filled the schools, which served as polling stations, as people from all works of life exercised their right to vote to elect the next president of their country.

Fredah Banda, 41, but who could pass for 25, is one of the many Zambians who turned out to vote at Kanyama Basic School. Banda stood patiently in the long queue, waiting to cast her vote. Wearing a light green floral chitenge – a sarong-like garment – as a skirt, a white scarf on her head and a dark shirt, she stepped forward as the people in the line moved ahead. She says she had been in the queue for an hour but that she didn’t mind waiting because she strongly believes that her vote makes a difference.

Banda zeroed in on her main drive to vote, which was echoed by many throughout the week: change and jobs.

“We want change, and the only way change can come is through casting our votes,” she says in a shy yet bold voice. “We need more jobs because most people who are educated people are unemployed.”

Banda, a single mother, sells ice blocks and water in small plastic bags for 100 kwacha ZMK (2 cents USD) each in a struggle to support her family. She has five children, but three live with her ex-husband.

She says she dropped out of school in ninth grade because her parents died. Banda now lives with her grandfather, who offers her shelter in Kanyama.

“I have children to take care of, but since there are few jobs, and I am not employed, I am hoping there will be change with the government that will be voted in,” she says.

She says she wants to vote for a candidate who prioritizes employment. She says the government should make certain jobs available for high school dropouts like her, such as a cleaner in a government office.

Zambians looking for change celebrated the election results throughout the weekend, repeating their hopes that the new government will mean new jobs. Voters last week echoed their desires for expanded employment opportunities. Although violence broke out at some polling stations, the elections were overall peaceful. Local and international election observers helped in ensuring a peaceful and transparent voting process. Sata made promises in his inauguration speech to continue this commitment to peace during his presidency. 

The fourth general election drew about 5.17 million registered voters, of which nearly 2.6 million were women, according to the Electoral Commission of Zambia. About 10 political parties participated in this year’s election.

Sata replaces President Rupiah Banda, who took office in 2008. The change ends two decades of rule by Banda’s party, the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy.

About 60 percent of Zambians live at the national poverty line, according to the World Bank.

Echoing Banda, many citizens say their main reason for celebration is the hope that a new leader and party will create jobs for them.

Victoria Bwalya dances in the crowd wearing a PF T-shirt, a chitenge and a head scarf. She says hope for new jobs is her main reason for celebration, as both she and her husband are unemployed.

“I feel happy, and today we have change,” she says. “Maybe I might find a job and take care of my four children.”

Biston Madevu, 38, an agriculture graduate from Lusaka West, says he hopes the new administration prioritizes job creation, as he hasn’t been able to find work in his career field.

“The big [thing that] we need is a job,” he says.

He speaks in a jovial manner with hope that the new government can create more jobs.

“We have tried the previous government for 20 years,” he says. “Maybe this government will bring change.”

He says it’s not about a specific party, but about fresh leadership.

“We don’t have anything against MMD, but we need change,” he says, referring to the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy. “MMD has been in power for 20 years.”

Getrude Kabamba, although she is happy about the results, says she won’t believe in change until she sees it. Kabamba sells vegetables outside of the city. As she sits on a sack and peels chibwabwas, a vegetable, she says the job market needs to promote local business owners.

“We as marketees, Zambians, are selling outside the market, and foreigners are given stands and shops to sell inside the market,” she says. “We want change.”

But not everyone celebrated the results, as Banda supporters denounced the change. Nineteen-year-old Natasha Zimba’s made-up face looks sad. She says she feels sad because she and her family supported the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy for a long time.

“I am sad, but I have accepted the will of the people,” she says.

Bernard Kaluba, the electoral commission officer presiding over the polling station at Kanyama Basic School, where Banda cast her vote, says about 870 citizens cast their votes here.

One of these citizens, Evans Chibawe, an industrial worker, said that, like Banda and those celebrating the election results, employment was a top issue for him in this election. He said the government that won the election should look into the issues of industrial workers like him. He says that his wages are low, and rent consumes half of them.

“We are getting very low salaries,” he says. “I get about 500[,000] kwacha ZMK ($100 USD)] and pay rentals at 250[,000 kwacha ZMK ($50 USD)]. We are been overwork, and whichever government is elected should look into that.”

Precious Mwewa, 36, a confident woman who works as a farmer, wore a chitenge around her waist as she waited to cast her vote. Like Banda, she said that it was important that people were given the chance to choose the president of their choice. But like Zimba, she said she didn’t want to see a change in the ruling party.

“I think everyone should be given a platform to cast their votes because we have different perspectives,” she says. “Others might want to change the ruling party because their needs are not met, but some of us, we would like to continue with the current ruling party.”

Mwewa said that freedom of expression showed peace, and that every citizen had a responsibility to maintain this peace.

Since its independence, the country has had mostly peaceful elections. The vote Tuesday was peaceful in most parts of the country, but there was some violence in parts of Lusaka.

Fanny, a registered voter who declined to give her full name for safety reasons, says she witnessed violence break out at Twashuka polling station in Kanyama. She says the violence arose because the opening of the polling station was delayed. She says some vehicles were burnt.

Unruly youth destroyed election materials, according to local reports, and police arrested five people in connection with the violence. Witnesses say police also used tear gas.

In Matero, another constituency in Lusaka, some ballot papers were burnt to ashes.

Police officers were deployed to these areas where violence arose, and the situation returned to normal.

Chibawe says that the only way to exercise one’s right is voting, and youths and Zambia as a Christian nation should exercise this right peacefully.

“We do not need violence,” he says. “Elections come and go, but we have to remain peaceful.”  

Kaluba says that at his polling station, security was assured as many police officers were monitoring the situation.

He further says that elections are a form of exercising democracy.

“I expect that people should accept whatever the results, and people’s will must prevail,” Kaluba said.

Several observers – both local and international – were deployed in all provinces here to monitor the elections. Maria Muñiz De Uriquiza, chief observer for the European Union Observer Mission, said at a media conference that the European Union and other agencies were in the country to observe the election and ensure transparency. She said she had been having constructive discussions with stakeholders regarding the elections.

Syakulo Silas, a local election observer, said that it was the responsibility of every observer to ensure that ballot boxes were sealed and arrived in time at the polling station. He said there was a need for closer supervision of registration to ensure transparency. Silas also observed that voting in some polling stations started late.

Silas, who is also a campaign officer for the United Party for National Development, says that politics is not about competition. Rather, he says that people should understand why they are in politics.  

“We have to know why we are in politics, and, as politicians, we should not intimidate people but allow them to vote freely,” he says.

He said that both citizens and political parties must accept the election results and that the Electoral Commission of Zambia should remain fair and give the people free and fair election results.

Banda said she hoped the results meant a job for her.

“I am looking forward to be employed as a cleaner in the government officers, so that I can take total care of my children,” Banda said as she drew closer to casting her vote.

Addressing the large crowd at the inauguration ceremony Friday, Sata thanked God and the people who elected him. Sata, who is popularly known as “King Cobra” here for his sharp tongue, promised to deliver services to the people, empower Zambians and fight against corruption.

“I urge people to continue praying for wisdom,” he said. “We should not allow violence to separate us. We are brothers and sisters.