Siden kl 04.00 tirsdag morgen har zambianerne stået i lange køer udenfor valgstederne for at afgive stemmer i det, der forventes af blive et af landets mest tætte valg nogensinde.
Præsident Rupiah Banda står til at møde hård kamp fra lederen af oppositionspartiet Patriotic Front, Michael Sata, om magten i det sydafrikanske kobberland, som Danmark har ydet udviklingsbistand til mange år.
LUSAKA, 20 September 2011: Since the last vote in 2008, an extra one million Zambians have registered to vote – many young and unemployed, writes BBC online Tuesday.
High copper prices have boosted economic growth but many ordinary Zambians say they have not benefited.
Thousands of policemen have been deployed to prevent violence and the sale of axes and other potential weapons has been banned during the election period.
According to iZambia Tuesday, about 5,2 million registered Zambian voters headed to the polls as from 04.00 Tuesday morning for elections pitting President Rupiah Banda’s pro-business policies against opposition leader Michael Sata’s fiery nationalism.
Mr Banda defeated Mr Sata by just 35.000 votes in the last election, sparking rioting by some opposition supporters in their urban strongholds (højborge), BBC online writes.
Polls will close at 18.00 local time, with the first results expected late on Wednesday.
