End of an era: an analysis of the 1991 Zambian presidential and parliamentary elections

ABSTRACT

Zambia's first general election under the new multi‐party constitution was held on 31 October, 1991. These Presidential and Parliamentary elections were the culmination of a campaign for multi‐party democracy, conducted over a period of almost two years, which had forced Dr. Kaunda to scrap one‐party rule. The veteran President and his party, UNIP, suffered a crushing electoral defeat at the hands of the opposition, the Movement for Multi‐Party Democracy (MMD). The Zambian elections set a precedent for a peaceful transition from one‐party rule to a multi‐party competitive democracy, and for a peaceful and orderly transfer of government. They marked the first time that a prominent African stateman had been ousted by popular vote and departed gracefully. Seeming to signal the beginning of a new epoch in African politics, the influence of these elections was bound to reverberate not only in Southern Africa but across the entire African continent. This article reviews and analyses the 1991 Zambian Presidential and Parliamentary elections. Although the elections can be seen as instructive for the rest of the African continent in the conduct of free and fair elections, and the peaceful transfer of power, the author draws attention to continuing problems in the democratisation process which might be equally instructive.