Zambians Go to Polls in First Multi-Party Elections Since ’68
Voters went to the polls Thursday in Zambia’s first multi-party elections since 1968, and the outcome will determine whether founding father President Kenneth D. Kaunda can overcome corruption charges and retain power.
Pickup trucks, cars and canoes ferried thousands of sealed ballot boxes to 63 counting centers after the polls closed in the latest African country to move toward Western-style democracy.
No incidents were reported, and a Commonwealth monitoring team said results are expected today.
Trade union leader Frederick Chiluba, the first person to challenge Kaunda since the president led Zambia to independence from Britain in 1964, said he expects to be sworn in as head of state in a few days.
Chiluba, 46, is head of the powerful 300,000-member Zambia Congress of Trade Unions.
Kaunda, 67, took to the golf links after voting, saying, “I expect to win the game, and the election.”
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