Zambia Votes for New President

(30 Oct 08 - RV) Zambians began voting today for a successor to the late President Levy Mwanawasa in what was expected to be a hotly contested election in the stable and increasingly prosperous southern African nation. The winner faces the formidable task of matching Mwanawasa's strong record of fiscal discipline, praised by Western donors, and of cracking down on corruption. Mwanawasa died from a stroke in August.
Acting President Rupiah Banda is facing Michael Sata, leader of the opposition Patriotic Front, who led the only opinion poll taking before the election. Gunther Simmermacher is the editor of the Southern Cross newspaper in neighbouring South Africa.  He says Zambia is an example of a functioning democracy for the entire region...