In a few days' time, Zambia goes to the polls to elect the Republican President, Members of Parliament, and Local Government Councillors.

The most important office up for election will be, of course, that of Republican President. In Zambia, the President is both the ceremonial head of state and the executive head of government. Consequently, the office carries enormous power and influence. Virtually no aspect of Zambian life is immune from the power of the President. As such, the man who will be elected to this office will directly set the tone for the future of the entire country for the next five years, and indirectly for an unknown (and perhaps unknowable) number of years after that.

There are five candidates for the Presidency: the incumbent Levy Patrick Mwanawasa of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), Michael Chilufya Sata of the Patriotic Front (PF), Hakainde Hichilema of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), Godfrey Miyanda of the Heritage Party (HP), and Kenneth Ngondo of the All Peoples Congress (APC).

Many voters have expressed dissatisfaction with all of the presidential candidates on offer. There are various reasons behind this, for instance:

• Mr. Mwanawasa's five years in office have not delivered tangible benefits to ordinary Zambians (the vast majority) and his anti-corruption crusade has not resulted in any significant convictions or recovery of stolen wealth.
• Mr. Sata has been a professional politician for decades; what new things does he now have to offer at this late stage in his life and career?
• Mr. Hichilema, whilst certainly a breath of fresh air, is a political novice. Further, his campaign has been tainted by charges of tribalism.
• Barring the occurrence of a truly unexpected event, Messrs. Miyanda and Ngondo are simply making up the numbers in this presidential race.

Each candidate, it seems, leaves something to be desired. However, the show must go on, Zambia PLC must continue to run and therefore each voter must choose from among the available candidates. I think it would be a great mistake to boycott these elections, as one or two commentators have been urging, on the basis that none of the candidates is particularly appealing.

I would like to suggest that each voter approach these elections from a somewhat different perspective than usual: instead of trying to choose the greater good, choose the lesser evil. These elections will be all about weighing each candidate's potential and propensity for evil.

I would urge my fellow voters to consider their choice soberly. Please examine not merely the words of each candidate, but more importantly their deeds, past and present.

Reflect on the fact that the President of the Republic is the head of state: he is supposed to represent the best and highest and most noble values of Zambia as a nation. The further a candidate departs from these values, the less fit he shows himself to be for the highest office in our land.

Please remember that Zambia is, comparatively speaking, a very young nation indeed, having only been in existence for 42 years. As such, the national traditions, practices and habits that we are developing right now will determine the course of our nation for years to come. What sort of course do we want to set our country on? The President we elect into office will be the personal embodiment of that course of action and destiny.

There are certain basic, minimum standards of character that are required of our President, integrity being the single most important one of them.

We all know what integrity means: incorruptibility, honesty and consistency. A political crisis has erupted in Hungary recently after Ferenc Gyurcsany, the Prime Minister, admitted that his party had lied to win Hungary's April 2006 general elections. The admission has prompted widespread protests and calls for him to step down. The fate of Mr. Gyurcsany and his government remains to be seen, but this example demonstrates that lack of integrity should an automatic disqualification for high political office. Indeed, it should be a disqualification for any high office: witness the cull of top executives in the business world in the wake of the Enron and other high-profile corporate scandals.

The need for political leaders of integrity in Africa generally and Zambia particularly is even more acute. Admittedly, none of the five presidential candidates is perfect on this score. However, there are clear differences between them. And each voter must assess those differences honestly.

I urge every voter to look deeply into the soul of each of the presidential candidate and to ask themselves what they see. Certainly you will not find pure angelic traits, but you will surely discern varying degrees of evil. And it is upon that discernment that you must base your choice.

Please choose the lesser evil.

May God bless the Republic of Zambia.