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MDC congratulates President Sata and the people of Zambia
Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)
September 23, 2011

The MDC congratulates the people of Zambia and Patriotic Front leader, and incoming President Michael Sata for holding peaceful, free and fair elections.

The Zambian elections are a major lesson to the rest of Africa that it is possible to hold free and fair elections with an uncontested result.

The MDC salutes the people of Zambia for voting and changing their governments in peace. The party further lauds Mr Rupiah Banda of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) for conceding defeat graciously.

It was a bloodless election where all parties contested freely. A free and diverse media covered the polls while the citizens freely voted and campaigned for political parties and candidates of their choice.

The Zambian elections are an important lesson for Zanu PF to recognise that there is life after death and should follow suit, accept defeat and admit to relinquish power peaceful after a defeat.

The MDC believes that the elections in Zambia have sent a clear lesson to both the emerging and established dictators in Africa that the people's unfettered will must be allowed to prevail.

Our Zambian neighbours have sent a clear message that the politics of machetes, knobkerries and guns have no place in modern Africa and violent polls must be a subject for the archives.

We believe in the proud citizens of Africa in choosing their leaders with neither fear nor coercion. The MDC believes in free and fair elections; free and fair polls with undisputed results as necessary preconditions for breeding legitimate governments and leaders.

Democracy is a prerequisite for development. There cannot be any development in Africa without the necessary democratic tenets and practices such as free and fair elections.

As the MDC fights for the people's hope, dignity, prosperity, security and freedom, we remain alive to the thriving democracy amongst our neighbours, where election results are not privatised but are announced expeditiously so that the elected government can immediately begin to transact the people's business.

As President Sata is sworn into office, the MDC appeals to him not to loose sight over the hard work that was being carried out by Mr Banda and other SADC leaders who are working in resolving all the outstanding issues in the GPA and that the roadmap to free and fair elections in Zimbabwe is implemented.

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