An emotional President Levy Mwanawasa urged Zambians to back him for another five-year term, saying they should ignore opponents' "sugar coated lies" and hold true to his pro-development, anti-corruption platform, according to Reuters. In a final campaign rally in Lusaka before Thursday's elections, Mwanawasa said his chief challenger, Popular Front leader Michael Sata, was tricking voters with elaborate promises of tax cuts and improved services that he could never deliver. "You should not change the government, because you will be jumping from the frying pan in the fire," the 58-year-old Mwanawasa told a crowd packed with supporters of his ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD). "Don't be cheated ... they (the opposition) are just telling you sugar coated lies as they campaign." Women dressed in elaborate African traditional dresses and headpieces fashioned out of the blue and white MMD flag ululated and danced on a dusty playing field as the incumbent made a final pitch for support in a race looking unexpectedly tight. Sata, a fiery populist who has poured scorn on Mwanawasa's record and questioned his state of health, drew many thousands more supporters at his final Lusaka rally on Tuesday, where party paraphernalia was limited to tiny home-made hats fashioned out of newspaper advertisements. Sata has promised to cut taxes for most Zambians and "chase out" Chinese and other foreign firms accused of exploiting Zambian workers, particularly in the country's copper mines. His rallying cry, "They are infesters, not investors," regularly pulls huge cheers at opposition rallies. Public opinion polls have been divided on whether Mwanawasa or Sata will emerge victorious in Thursday's polls, open to some four million voters in the copper-rich southern African country of 11.5 million people. A third presidential candidate, Hakainde Hichilema of the United Democratic Alliance, also has wide support. But most analysts expect him to place a distant third in the vote, which is being held under the cloud of the last poll in 2001, which was marred by missing ballots, opaque count procedures and charges of vote-rigging. Officials, however, vowed things will be different this week with the use of new satellite technology, portable electric lanterns and other innovations designed to ensure the polls are regarded as among Africa's finest. Aircraft have delivered ballots across Zambia ahead of polling day, dropping papers in rural districts stretching from the border with Democratic Republic of Congo to the Zambezi River to prevent a repeat of the 2001 fiasco, which saw some voting stations receive ballots after polling formally closed. But the public's focus now is mainly on the contest itself. Mwanawasa, who has been on the defensive for much of the race, sought to counter charges he may not be fit enough to steer Zambia for another five years with vague assurances on his health after what was described as a minor stroke in April. He also underscored his economic achievements, led by a $7.2 billion debt write-off extended by Western donors this year. "The elections taking place tomorrow are very critical. We have achieved a lot together and you will decide whether you want to move forward or go backwards."
