Zambia election violence ‘unprecedented’, Jonathan urges for free and fair election in Africa

The head of Zambia’s electoral commission has been responding to reports of violence in the run up to Thursday’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

We posted earlier about an attack on an opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) campaign bus by what appeared to be supporters of the governing Patriotic Front (PF).

Electoral Commission of Zambia Chairperson Esau Chulu told journalists:

The acts of violence that have charectised the 2016 election campaigns is unprecedented and have marred Zambia’s historic and peaceful elections.”

Mr Chulu called on the party leaders to keep their supporters under control.

The BBC’s Meluse Kapatamoyo in the capital, Lusaka, says that election violence does not appear to have gone away despite last month’s 10-day ban on campaigning in Lusaka, which was supposed to have brought the violence to an end.

( AFP ) Incumbent President Edgar Lungu is being challenged by eight candidates including the UPND’s Hakainde Hichilema

Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan, in his twitter updates had urged  that Africa should try and organise free and fair elections:

If Africa can't yet send men to the moon we should at least organize elections that are free and fair of which the whole World will be proud

— Goodluck E. Jonathan (@GEJonathan) August 8, 2016

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