By JAMES KUNDA AND CHARITY MOONGA –

SEVERAL countries have commended the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) for handling the Presidential election professionally.
US Ambassador to Zambia Eric Schultz said in a statement yesterday that the conduct of ECZ strongly affirmed the country’s reputation as a strong democracy.
“We strongly commend the Electoral Commission of Zambia for running a professional and well-organised election free of political violence and with minimal electoral irregularities,” stated Mr Schultz.
He called on Zambians to be patient until ECZ compiled and verified all the votes cast before announcing the final results.
“Candidates need to advise their supporters to remain calm and honour ECZ’s announcement of the results, once the electoral process is complete, we hope everyone will respect the final result,” he said.
German Ambassador to Zambia Bernd Finke said the country had another opportunity to strengthen its international reputation as a strong democracy by securing an orderly and peaceful transfer of power from one President to another.
“These are days and hours of great suspense and expectation. While the last Zambians cast their vote, we can say that we could witness overall well-organised elections, which were free of political violence,” Mr Finke said in a statement.
The German envoy called on the incoming President to rejoice but refrain from triumphalism while the losing candidates should respect the decision of the voters and accept defeat with grace.
Canadian High Commissioner to Zambia Alexandre Leveque said his country was happy that Zambians exercised their democratic right to vote.
“Zambians stood calmly and patiently in line for several hours in order to vote for their candidate of choice and ECZ should be commended for their efforts in conducting a well-run election, despite heavy rains and flooding in some areas,” Mr Leveque said.
The European Union (EU) delegation observing the elections in Zambia said it was impressed by discipline of the voters, the professionalism of the ECZ and the demeanor of the party and security agents.
Meanwhile, the African Union Elections Observer Mission (AUEOM) has said the just-ended presidential election met the basic international standards for democratic elections.
AUEOM head of mission Kgalema Motlanthe said at a Press briefing in Lusaka yesterday that the election was conducted peacefully in a way that enabled qualified Zambians to exercise their franchise.
Mr Motlanthe urged Zambians to continue to conducting themselves peacefully until the end of the electoral process.
He urged ECZ to amend the electoral guidelines for the purpose of removing the requirement of recording voter card numbers on the counterfoil of the ballot as this tends to compromise of the secrecy of the ballot.
ECZ should also provide adequate signage to polling stations and polling streams and strengthen the training of ushers while the voter register should be harmonised with the national civil registry.