Polling to elect Zambia's new president begins

Polling to elect Zambia's new president began on 30 October 2008. Polling stations throughout the country opened at 0600 local time (0400 UTC) with police officers and soldiers on alert to prevent any violence after the opposition parties accused the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) of voter fraud; polling centers are scheduled to close at 1800 local time (1600 UTC). The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) stated that it will start counting the results immediately after the polls close and that it will begin announcing the election's results by 31 October. The election will replace the late Levy Mwanawasa, who died from a stroke in September 2008.