There are growing complaints of government vote-rigging in the run-up to local elections in Zambia.

The local representative of the international aid agency, World Vision, Fred Simposya, said officials of the governing Movement for Multi-Party Democracy, had been distributing food aid as a means of vote-buying.

Meanwhile, opposition leaders said the government had attempted to woo voters by extending for a fourth time the deadline for the sale of council houses to sitting tenants.