Lusaka- Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Zambia's north-central Copperbelt region Thursday to demand the release of a local radio journalist who was arrested Wednesday for alleged incitement in a post-election programme.

The protesters, who chanted anti-government slogans, brought business in the town of Kitwe to a standstill, privately-owned Radio Phoenix reported.

No injuries were reported in the demonstration that passed off with only minor rioting.

Local police chief Daniel Kasonde said that there had been some arrests, without giving the number held. Kasonde also said the journalist, Frank Bwalya, would be released after being formally charged on Thursday.

Police arrested Bwalya, a manager at Radio Ichengelo, soon after he finished taking calls on a phone-in programme about the country's October 30 presidential elections.

Former vice-president Rupiah Banda of the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy narrowly won the vote in a tight race with opposition leader Michael Sata.

Sata's Patriotic Front (PF) has gone to court to challenge the result.

Zambia had found itself without a president in August after Levy Mwanawasa died of the effects of a stroke in Paris.

Copperbelt province is a PF stronghold and the economic heart of Zambia, which is Africa's largest copper producer.

The PF accuses the Electoral Commission of Zambia of rigging the result in Banda's favour and has vowed to make it difficult for him to rule. The party called for a demonstrations in Kitwe district at the weekend to protest Sata's defeat.

Zambians have been holding their breath for a wave of election violence. Sata's refusal to accept defeat in the 2006 presidential election led to a week of rioting.

This time, apart from isolated protests in Lusaka and the Copperbelt, the situation has been mostly peaceful so far. (dpa)