Zambia's presidential election starts on peaceful note

Zambian presidential election commenced on Tuesday morning, and by far the process of voting has been orderly and peaceful despite previous concerns over violent incidents that might occur.

About 5.1 million registered voters are expected to cast their ballots at about 6,456 polling centers dotted in 150 constituencies in an election where 11 candidates are contesting.

Voters waited patiently in long queues at some polling stations in the capital city of Lusaka.

"The situation is peaceful here and the polling station opened on time. I am happy that everything is going on well so far," Benson Halubobwe, who had just cast his ballot at Jaracanda Basic School, told Xinhua.

Seleman Musonda, who cast his ballot at a public library in the central business district of the Zambian capital, also said that he was happy that the situation so far was calm and peaceful.

"There are no hiccups here. We want to commend the ECZ (Electoral Commission of Zambia) officials for doing a good job," he said.

According to the Zambia Reports website, there has been no negative incident since the polling centers opened around 6:00 a.m. (0400 GMT) in Kitwe city where voters braved the heavy rains to queue up and vote.

Mable Chibwe, chairperson of an election monitoring group called Heaven Bound Ministry International, told Xinhua that the voting process so far has been smooth and hoped that peace will prevail after the election.

"After the election, we expect all the candidates to accept the outcome of the election. We need to ensure that peace continues in this country," she said.

11 candidates are contesting the race to become Zambia's sixth president after the death of President Michael Sata in last October.

Before the election day, violence between supporters of different candidates has characterized the campaign despite repeated calls for political leaders to curb their proponents from violent actions.

Vote counting is expected to begin at various polling centers soon after 6:00 p.m. (1600 GMT) when the voting ends.

The results will then be taken to totaling centers in various constituencies before being electronically transmitted to the main totaling center at the Mulungushi International Conference Center in Lusaka. Endi