Zambia
Resolution on the Political Situation In Zambia
As adopted by the Congress of Liberal International, Budapest, Hungary 21-23 March 2002.
This, the 51st Congress of Liberal International in Budapest, Hungary
Congratulates the United Party for National Development for its good campaign in the recent elections in Zambia
Noting with concern the recent problems surrounding the elections in Zambia:
Taking into account the reports by the EU observation mission which finds:
- that the Government of the Republic of Zambia has not fulfilled its commitment to a level playing field for the 2001 elections;
- open use of state resources in support of the MMD;
- heavy weighting of the state owned media in favour of the MMD;
Noting the final report of the EU observation mission which finds a lack of confidence that the declared results represent the wishes of the Zambian electors on polling day and the reports of the international Carter Center and the largest domestic monitoring organisation FODEP:
- Congratulates the liberal United Party for National Development and their leader Mr Anderson Mazoka for their election campaign and urges them to express peacefully their concerns about this injustice with firmness and authority.
- Welcomes the petition placed by the UPND to challenge the authenticity of the results of the presidential and some of the parliamentary results
- Calls on all member parties and the international community to put pressure on the Government of the Republic of Zambia to allow a fair and independent hearing of the election petitions tabled by the UPND and other opposition parties and;
- to follow the recommendations of the final report of the EU mission and publish voting figures from each polling station as an important contribution to transparency and;
- to allow a full recount of votes for the presidential election, and to abide by that result.