Zambia court halts poll result

Mazoka is running second in the poll, according to estimates

LUSAKA, Zambia -- A Zambian High Court judge has barred the government from declaring a winner in presidential elections until he rules on an opposition appeal.

Judge Peter Chitengi delayed any announcement for 24 hours on Tuesday to allow him to hear a petition from 10 opposition parties that the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) rigged last week's presidential, parliamentary and municipal polls.

"No action whatsoever should take place before my ruling on this matter tomorrow at 8.30 a.m. (0630 GMT on Wednesday)," he said.

"This a very important case. It is urgent and it is of national importance."

VIDEO Zambia's 10 opposition parties are demanding an investigation into the charge that the government rigged the presidential election. CNN's Colleen McEdwards reports (December 31) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   RESOURCES At a glance: Zambia  Provided by: CountryWatch.com

The latest results from the Electoral Commission, with almost all the votes counted, showed ruling party candidate Levy Mwanawasa ahead of his closest rival, businessman Anderson Mazoka.

European Union observers said they had seen evidence of "many serious shortcomings" in the poll. Electoral Commission officials, however, have rejected charges of vote-rigging.

There have been allegations that in some areas the number of declared votes exceeded that of registered voters, that ballot boxes had been stuffed, extra ballot boxes appeared long after counting had ended and that voter cards were used fraudulently.

Government spokesman Vernon Mwaanga accused the EU of incitement and teaming up with the opposition to try to oust the MMD from power. "We invited them to monitor elections, not to run them," he said.

Chitengi earlier abandoned his courtroom after police clashed with thousands of opposition supporters outside the High Court.

The protesters were demanding the court nullify the polls.

Opposition urges protests

On Tuesday morning, results from 140 of 150 constituencies gave Mwanawasa 482,381 votes versus 449,012 for Mazoka.

The government-owned Times of Zambia newspaper declared Mwanawasa "the obvious winner of the presidential elections."

But leaders of the 10 opposition parties rejected the results and urged Zambians to demonstrate against the outcome.

"We in FDD (Forum for Democracy and Development) join other opposition leaders in calling upon our members countrywide to start peaceful protests tomorrow (Tuesday) against the fraudulent results," FDD leader Christon Tembo told a news conference on Monday.

Tembo was running third in the poll with 218,386 votes, behind Mazoka, a former mining executive who has declared himself the winner and accused Chiluba of trying to cheat him of victory.

The Zambian constitution states that the legitimacy of a presidential candidate can only be challenged 14 days after his inauguration as head of state.