Zambia's parliament voted against opposition attempts to impeach President Levy Mwanawasa over allegations of violating the constitution and "gross misconduct".

A total of 92 lawmakers voted against impeachment and 57 in favour.

For the motion to succeed it needed the support of two-thirds, or 106 votes, of the 169 members of parliament.

Not all deputies were in the house at the time of balloting.

Opposition deputies Tuesday submitted a historic motion listing 25 counts on which Mwanawasa was accused of breaching the country's supreme law and of alleged misconduct since he came to power in January last year.

The lawmakers accused him of, among other things, nepotism by allegedly appointing his relatives to higher offices in government and of receiving bribes from businessmen soliciting for business from government.

"The question of impeachment is resolved in the negative and therefore the motion falls out," speaker of parliament Amussa Mwanamwambwa announced to lawmakers after the ballot count.

Suspended ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) chairperson Chitalu Sampa, former home affairs minister Peter Machungwa and former vice president Enock Kavindele voted in favour of the impeachment.

Another former deputy minister of lands, Dalton Sonkontwe who was recently sacked by Mwanawasa decided to abstain from the ballot.

Some lawmakers from the opposition United National Independence Party (UNIP), Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) and the Heritage Party (HP) voted against the impeachment motion.

Mwanawasa recently appointed some parliamentarians from UNIP, FDD and HP as deputy ministers in his government, a move that angered the opposition in Zambia.

Earlier, during the heated debate, Kavindele who served as Mwanawasa's deputy until he was sacked in May told parliament that the Zambian leader was corrupt and could not continue as the country's leader.

"I am ready to appear before any tribunal to prove that the president is corrupt," Kavindele said while producing various documents alleging that Mwanawasa was soliciting for bribes from businessmen.

He also accused Mwanawasa of having "pocketed" $60 000, which was donated to the ruling party.

However, Zambia's Agriculture Minister Mundia Sikatana defended Mwanawasa on the 25 charges levelled against him saying Kavindele was trying to use parliament to settle political scores.

"It is in fact Kavindele who is corrupt. That is partly why he was fired from his position," Sikatana said.

Ex-foreign minister Katele Kalumba, who had initially signed a petition to remove Mwanawasa changed his mind and voted against the motion after he reconciled with his former boss.

Opposition lawmaker Edith Nawakwi argued that Mwanawasa was innocent until proven guilty by the courts of law but urged parliament to vote in favour of a motion so that a tribunal could be established to investigate the president.

"Our president is abetting corruption and it is him to defend himself against these allegations," Nawakwi said.

The ruling MMD members of parliament accused the opposition of having brought the motion to parliament just to embarrass Mwanawasa and bring discontent to the nation. – Sapa-AFP.