A presidential by-election will be held in Zambia on 20 January after former leader Michael Sata died in office last year. Here are five things you need to know about the poll.
Zambia’s five leaders in five decades
1: Medical tests
After the recent deaths of two serving presidents, there have been calls for the four presidential candidates - Edgar Lungu, Hakainde Hichilema, Edith Nawakwi and Nevers Mumba, who are all in their 50s - to undergo medical tests to prove they are fit to hold office.The debate was sparked by Chongwe MP Sylvia Masebo, who defected from PF to opposition candidate Mr Hichilema.She accused Mr Lungu of being physically unfit to hold office and challenged him to take medical tests. His spokesman said Mr Lungu was ready to take any tests, any time. It is not known if he has done so.
2: Beyond race?
Guy Scott, a white Zambian of Scottish descent, was appointed interim president a day after Mr Sata died.A section of Zambia’s constitution known as the indigenous clause prohibited the 70-year-old from contesting the election, on the grounds that his parents were not born in Zambia. Much was made by the international media about him being mainland Africa’s first white president for 20 years but for many ordinary Zambians, his skin colour didn’t seem to matter. Many said they saw him simply as Zambian. Mr Scott has been a major political player since the 1990s, shifting from party to party until he ended up in the governing Patriotic Front (PF) as Mr Sata’s running mate. The two were known to be close friends. His relationship with PF’s presidential candidate, Edgar Lungu, has not been good. A disagreement burst into the open when Mr Scott sacked Mr Lungu as party secretary-general. He was forced to reinstate him shortly afterwards when other party figures objected.
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done by Nomsa Maseko BBC africa Correspondence
