Michael Sata wins Zambian presidential election

Opposition leader nicknamed King Cobra ousts incumbent Rupiah Banda, whose party has run Zambia since 1991 The opposition leader Michael Sata has been declared the winner of Zambia’s presidential election, ousting the incumbent, Rupiah Banda. With 95% of constituencies counted, Sata had 1,150,045 votes, 43% of the total, compared to Banda’s 961,796. Sata’s supporters spilled into the streets of the capital, Lusaka, to celebrate the announcement. Banda’s Movement for Multi-party Democracy party has run Zambia since one-party rule ended in 1991. On Thursday youths fought running battles with riot police in the towns of Ndola and Kitwe, setting fire to vehicles and markets. Hackers hit the election commission’s website overnight, posting false results showing Sata on course for a landslide, adding to the confusion and tension of what was already a tight race between two old rivals. Sata lost to Banda by just 35,000 votes in 2008. Sata, 74, nicknamed King Cobra because of his venomous tongue, toned down his rhetoric against foreign mining firms in the closing stages of the six-week campaign but his victory could still cloud the investment outlook. Zambia is Africa’s biggest copper producer and Chinese companies have become key players in Zambia’s economy, with total investments by the end of 2010 topping $2bn, according to data from the Chinese embassy. Sata accused Chinese mining firms in the earlier stages of the campaign of creating slave labour conditions with scant regard for safety or the local culture. Zambia Africa guardian.co.uk

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