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Minister of State Pieper welcomes peaceful transfer of power in Zambia
In the presidential elections of 20 September 2001, Michael Sata, leader of what was hitherto the largest opposition party in Zambia, the Patriotic Front, won a clear majority over former President Rupiah Banda, leader of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD). Thus, 20 years of MMD rule have come to a close. Following his inauguration on 23 September 2011, President Sato has taken up his presidential duties.
Speaking about the election result and the democratic change in Zambia, Minister of State Pieper made the following statement in Hanoi today:
“The German Government welcomes the fact that the Zambian presidential elections have taken a peaceful, free and fair course according to both national and international monitors. The peaceful transfer of power was facilitated by Zambia’s stable institutions, something that not all African countries can yet boast.
Examples such as this are pointing the right way for our African neighbours. In Africa, as elsewhere, the days of autocratic rule without democratic legitimacy must be numbered.”