Zambian Election to Be Challenged in Court

Michael Sata, who lost last week’s presidential election in Zambia to Acting President Rupiah Banda, is going to court, according to Reuters.

Sata received 38 percent of the votes, while Banda received 40 percent, Reuters reported. Of the nearly 1.8 million votes cast, the margin was approximately 35,000 votes. Sata had led Banda by 100,000 votes at one point during the counting, reported the Calgary Herald.

Banda, 71, has been acting president since the August death of Levy Mwanawasa, who was re-elected to a second term in 2006. Banda was sworn in on Sunday during a ceremony with his wife, Thandiwe, 21, and Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, in attendance, the Herald said.

Reuters describes Zambia as, “one of the most politically stable nations in Africa. However, a prolonged election dispute could unsettle investors at a time when Africa’s largest copper producer is feeling the pinch from the global financial crisis.”