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Mwanawasa to announce successor
31/12/2007 17:58 - (SA)
Lusaka - Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa said on Friday that he would soon announce his preferred successor to take over from him when he completes his final presidential term in 2011.
Mwanawasa said he would present the name to his party's National Executive Committee (NEC) "very, very soon" for endorsement ahead of a party convention whose dates are yet to be announced.
"I think it will be irresponsible on my part to leave it to democratic forces and hope that the democratic forces will produce a right candidate," Mwanawasa told the privately-owned Post daily.
Mwanawasa is constitutionally precluded from continuing as president after his second term of office expires in 2011.
"As a sitting president, I feel it is in the interest of the nation for me to play a role in the party leadership. Very soon, I will be announcing," said Mwanawasa.
The president, who was re-elected for a second five-year term in 2006, said he had considered three names in the last few years.
"I wish there was a woman," he said when asked whether there was a woman among the three possible successors.
Mwanawasa came into power in 2002 after he was hand-picked from political obscurity by former president Frederick Chiluba, who imposed him on the party despite opposition from senior party members.
The two have since fallen out, with Mwanawasa accusing his former mentor of planning a political comeback so that he can be re-elected as head of state.
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