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General Information
Bridge over Victoria Falls bordering Zambia and Zimbabwe
Olympic Stadium, Lusaka
The Zambian flag
perceptions of the constitutional changes that came
to pass, which prevented former president Kenneth
Kaunda from standing as a presidential candidate
ahead of the November 1996 National elections.
UNIP and other opposition parties subsequently
boycotted the elections in 1996 as they were collec-
tively on the receiving end of much harassment by
the MMD. The election resulted in another Chiluba
Presidency.
In 2001 Chiluba announced that he was going to
amend the constitution to allow him to stand for a
third term in office. The public was outraged at
such undemocratic actions of their President amid
increasing allegations of corruption. In the end Chi-
luba finally agreed to step down and appointed Levy
Mwanawasa as his successor. After a close election
race in December 2001 between Levy Mwanawasa
of the MMD and Anderson Mazoka of the United Par-
ty for National Development (UPNDP), Mwanawasa
was sworn in as President. Although the results
were disputed, the Supreme Court eventually ruled
in favour of President Mwanawasa and the MMD.
Mwanawasa ran for a second term in the 2006, in
which the MMD retained power.
Important steps taken under President Mwanawa-
sa’s “New Deal Administration” included the launch-
ing of a far-reaching anti-corruption campaign in
2002, as well as a comprehensive constitutional re-
view process in 2005 set to strengthen government’s
political accountability.
Levy Mwanawasa served as President of Zambia
from January 2002 until his untimely death in August
2008 after suffering a stroke. Mwanawasa’s Vice-
President, Rupiah Banda, became acting President
and, subsequently the Presidential candidate for the
MMD who narrowly won the October 2008 presiden-
tial election.
National Flag
The national flag of Zambia was hoisted for the
first time on the October 23, 1964. Symbolizing
patriotism and the nation’s natural resources, the
flag depicts a fish-eagle (Zambia’s national bird) in
flight over three stripes of red, black, and orange on
a green background. Red represents the Zambian
struggle for freedom; black represents the people
of Zambia; orange represents the country’s mineral
wealth; and green represents the country’s abun-
dance of wildlife and nature. The fish-eagle in flight
symbolizes the freedom that exists in Zambia and
the ability to rise above national problems.
NATIONALSYMBOLS