20 YEARS AGO TODAY: WHEN THE 2006 ELECTION REFUSED TO END QUIETLY On September 28, 2006, Zambia went to the polls for its fourth multi-party general election since the return of multiparty democracy in 1991. And, as Zambian elections have a habit of doing, the ballot boxes went in peacefully… but the political drama came […]

20 YEARS AGO TODAY: WHEN THE 2006 ELECTION REFUSED TO END QUIETLY

On September 28, 2006, Zambia went to the polls for its fourth multi-party general election since the return of multiparty democracy in 1991.

And, as Zambian elections have a habit of doing, the ballot boxes went in peacefully… but the political drama came out swinging.

During the first two days of counting, Michael Sata of the Patriotic Front (PF) appeared to be leading the presidential race. Then, as more results arrived, that lead began disappearing faster than campaign promises after election day.

The final Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) figures put Mwanawasa on 43%, Sata on 29%, and United Democratic Alliance (UDA)‘s Hakainde Hichilema on 25% of the 2.52 million votes cast. Heritage Party’s Brigadier General Godfrey Miyanda and All People’s Congress Party President Winright Ngondo got 1.57 and 0.76 % of the votes respectively.

In Parliament, the MMD emerged with 74 of the 159 seats, while Sata’s PF won 44 seats and the UDA led by Hichilema, took 27 seats.

But before anyone could comfortably say “Congratulations, Mr President,” the mathematics of democracy had already entered its most controversial chapter.

Sata’s supporters were not exactly impressed with the arithmetic.

Protests erupted in Lusaka and on the Copperbelt which were PF strongholds.

In parts of Matero, Garden, Mandevu and other townships, shops were looted, vehicles were torched and police responded with teargas. Troops and police were deployed as tensions escalated.

On October 1, which was a Sunday after Thursday’s election, Mwanawasa addressed the nation on state television and accused the opposition of fomenting the violence, warning that law-enforcement agencies would deal firmly with those responsible.

By Monday, October 2, businesses remained closed in affected areas.

Sata, meanwhile, appeared to have already accepted the inevitable but not without leaving behind one of those classic Zambian political quotes that deserves its own museum.

He reportedly conceded that his presidential bid was probably lost, but said:

“Once Mwanawasa is declared the winner, I will congratulate him for successfully stealing the vote.”

And when asked about challenging the result in court, Sata reportedly responded:

“I am not going to petition [the Supreme Court] because I have no time to waste in court.”

Instead, he promised to return to the people and fight his battles “inside Parliament and outside.”

Mwanawasa was eventually sworn in at the National Assembly grounds on October 3, 2006.

Twenty years later, three of the contestants in that election have since passed on.

The numbers remain history. The drama remains unmistakably Zambian.