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UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk raised concerns Wednesday about arrests and detentions of opposition members surrounding Zambia’s elections on August 13.
Türk stated that “arrests and resulting court proceedings … must be fully consistent with international human rights standards, as well as Zambian domestic law.” He continued, “[A]ll detainees must be notified … of the reasons for their arrest” and “allowed to access legal representation.” The rights chief concluded that “it is essential to uphold respect for human rights and ensure that any grievances arising from the election are voiced and addressed peacefully, and in accordance with international human rights law.”
Incumbent president Hakainde Hichilema was declared the winner with around 60 percent of the presidential vote. His main rival, opposition leader Brian Mundubile, received about 38 percent. Vote counting was suspended and then restarted hours later by the electoral commission, which cited assaults against polling station officials and stolen ballot papers. This then led to the deployment of riot police and soldiers. This election was reported as abnormally tense for a country that has had relatively peaceful elections since 1991.
Amnesty International recently cautioned about authoritarian risk ahead of the elections, “warning that persistent state crackdowns on free speech and peaceful assembly now pose[d] a serious threat.” Before that, the organization urged Zambian authorities to release a journalist arrested in July.
Mundubile declared victory before final results came out, claiming the election had been rigged. He noted “discrepancies between the results found at polling stations,” said “military involvement during the vote count had altered the final results,” and demanded an independent investigation. Mandubile shared that “heavily armed personnel had raided his residence after the election,” and Zambian officials stated that he had been “at the scene when 11 people were apprehended.” A former government minister was reportedly killed in the raid.
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Türk stated that “arrests and resulting court proceedings … must be fully consistent with international human rights standards, as well as Zambian domestic law.” He continued, “[A]ll detainees must be notified … of the reasons for their arrest” and “allowed to access legal representation.” The rights chief concluded that “it is essential to uphold respect for human rights and ensure that any grievances arising from the election are voiced and addressed peacefully, and in accordance with international human rights law.”
Incumbent president Hakainde Hichilema was declared the winner with around 60 percent of the presidential vote. His main rival, opposition leader Brian Mundubile, received about 38 percent. Vote counting was suspended and then restarted hours later by the electoral commission, which cited assaults against polling station officials and stolen ballot papers. This then led to the deployment of riot police and soldiers. This election was reported as abnormally tense for a country that has had relatively peaceful elections since 1991.
Amnesty International recently cautioned about authoritarian risk ahead of the elections, “warning that persistent state crackdowns on free speech and peaceful assembly now pose[d] a serious threat.” Before that, the organization urged Zambian authorities to release a journalist arrested in July.
Mundubile declared victory before final results came out, claiming the election had been rigged. He noted “discrepancies between the results found at polling stations,” said “military involvement during the vote count had altered the final results,” and demanded an independent investigation. Mandubile shared that “heavily armed personnel had raided his residence after the election,” and Zambian officials stated that he had been “at the scene when 11 people were apprehended.” A former government minister was reportedly killed in the raid.
The post UN rights chief flags Zambia opposition arrests after election appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.