Zambian VP and minister vie for presidency

  1. Posted on Thursday 28 August 2008 - 09:35
    Sam Banda Junior
    Image of Sam Banda Junior
    Sam Banda Junior, AfricaNews reporter in Blantyre, Malawi
    The succession battle in Zambia opposing vice president Rupiah Banda and finance minister Ngandu Magande is becoming a fierce one. According to the country's constitution, an election must be called within 90 days of the presidential office being vacant and the elections are likely to be held in November.
    Zambia_coa
    The Southern African country which is the largest producer of copper in Africa lost Mwanawasa on August 19 leaving Banda the task of acting president.

    The vice president who has also been running the country during Mwanawasa's illness according to a ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) official, is expected to contest alongside Magande as well as two other candidates.

    A Reuters report quoted the official as saying Tuesday that the two will contest in the elections.

    The country's local newspaper, The Post was quoted as saying that the vice president was due to file his application on Tuesday. The finance minister Magande already submitted his application on Monday.

    The Post report further said: "With my rich experience in managing state operations both internationally and locally, I consider myself eminently qualified to represent the MMD party in the forthcoming presidential by-elections," Magande's letter to MMD party national secretary Katele Kalumba is quoted as saying.

    The country's ruling MMD party is set to choose its presidential candidate on Sept. 5 to replace Mwanawasa. The party is said to have initially set a deadline of Tuesday for candidates to submit applications but this has been extended to Friday.

    Zambia's president late Mwanawasa won the hearts of donors with his quality leadership which improved the economy and on top of that he strengthened his fight in corruption.

    The president who was also Southern African Development Community (Sadc) chairman suffered stroke in June whilst attending an African Union (AU) Summit in Egypt before being flown to France where he died on August 19.

    Mwanawasa is set to be buried on September 3 which also happens to be his birthday.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive