Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa aims to continue until 2011 By Olga Manda

Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa
Published: Tuesday September 26, 2006

By Olga Manda, Lusaka- Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, Zambia's third president, has been in power since 2002 and aims to continue ruling the country until 2011. Mwanawasa, known for outbursts of temper and mood swings, has managed to endear himself to some sections of the Zambian public for his stand on corruption - the country's number one "enemy".

Mwanawasa returned to politics at the invitation of his predecessor Frederick Chiluba to become the preferred presidential candidate of the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) in 2001.

He has walked a tight rope since.

In general elections this week, Zambians will decide whether or not to give the 58-year-old politician the second five-year term he has been campaigning for amid strong competition from opposition party candidates.

The MMD has governed the landlocked southern African country for 15 years, under his leadership for the last five years and before that, with Mwanawasa as a senior figure.

Born into a polygamous family on September 3, 1948, in the northern mining town of Mufulira in the Copperbelt province, the father of six children began his career as a lawyer.

On graduating from the University of Zambia, Mwanawasa worked at private law firms and later established his own practice. In 1985, he was appointed solicitor general in the government of Zambia's first post-independence president Kenneth Kaunda before he was dismissed and returned to the private sector.

In 1991, Mwanawasa became vice president of Zambia after historic elections, when the MMD toppled Kaunda's dictatorship regime of 27 years. He served briefly under the newly-elected Chiluba government, from which he resigned in 1994 citing corruption, gross abuse of office and insubordination by some of his colleagues.

In 1996, his bid for the party presidency against Chiluba was unsuccessful, after which he retired from active politics to work quietly at his law firm.

In a sudden twist of events, in 2001 Mwanawasa emerged an unlikely MMD presidential candidate, having been hand-picked by Chiluba as successor ahead of general elections.

He received a disputed 29.1 per cent at the polls, which were marred by corruption, violence and electoral fraud.

His victory was widely questioned by local and international monitors, which believed the opposition United Party for National Democracy (UPND) had actually won the election.

A petition challenging his legitimacy by opposition parties seeking to have the poll results annulled resulted in a court battle that lasted four years.

Mwanawasa's five years of rule have focused on rebuilding a struggling economy and ridding public offices of rampant corruption.

During his tenure Mwanawasa has also demonstrated an authoritarian streak in adopting constitutional and electoral reform, while regionalism and tribalism have also emerged strongly threatening the ethnic harmony nationwide.

Perhaps his major redeeming point has been his crusade against corruption, which has seen Chiluba's immunity from prosecution waived and a trial for corruption and the theft of public funds set.

Mwanawasa also ensured that several high-ranking figures from the former Chiluba government were included in his corruption and theft dragnet.

But this campaign has widely come to be viewed as a tool by which Mwanawasa settles battles with political opponents and detractors in the face of a lack of convictions, lengthy court trials, and several acquittals of alleged plunderers for lack of evidence.

In April 2006, Mwanawasa suffered a stroke while campaigning for the current elections.

The stroke was believed to have compounded his existing health problems - he is a diabetic who suffers hypertension, while a near- fatal accident in 1993 left him slow and with slurred speech.

Mwanawasa's health has been a longstanding source of concern among Zambians with his detractors and major political opponents calling for him to step down. But Mwanawasa has declared himself fit and ready to continue with the presidency.

Proving his critics wrong about his capabilities, the economy under Mwanawasa has made some gains.

Prudent fiscal and a tight monetary policy by his government saw western donors and multilateral financiers cancel Zambia's 7.3 billion dollar foreign debt.

The Zambian currency, the Kwacha, has strengthened significantly against major international currencies. Soaring inflation has dropped, triggering a reduction in prohibitive bank interest rates.

Confidence in the copper-driven economy has been renewed, particularly among Indian and Chinese investors.

Despite these gains, Zambia still faces the difficult challenges of poverty,disease, unemployment, uncertain food supplies, and a severe brain drain of critical manpower.

Mwanawasa says he wants to finish the development programmes he started and is the best candidate of the five presidential aspirants.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa