Two days after polls closed in Zambia's general election, no clear winner has yet emerged, reports suggest.
Zambia's incumbent president is closing on his main rival as the counting of ballots from Thursday's poll continues.
Opposition candidate Michael Sata has taken a lead in results so far from the capital and major mining towns.
President Levy Mwanawasa of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy has done well in rural areas, but his rival Michael Sata still maintains a lead.
Mr Sata is aiming to end the 15-year rule of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy in Zambia's Levy Mwanawasa.
Mr Sata of the Patriotic Front has warned of "ghastly consequences" if electoral fraud is detected.
Some newspaper reports say President Mwanawasa has a substantial lead in a number of rural areas in what observers have called a well-organised election.
The electoral commission's handling of the poll was praised by international observers as efficient and transparent.
Mr Sata has warned of what he called 'ghastly consequences' if he is fraudulently deprived of the presidency.
But the commission has also come under increasing criticism for the slow pace of result announcements.
Economy campaign
Its chairwoman, Ireen Mambilima, said Mr Mwanawasa had clinched landslide wins in central and eastern Zambia, while Mr Sata continued to score highly in the mineral-rich Copperbelt province.
In the few constituencies declared so far following Thursday's vote, Mr Sata has won 40% of the vote, compared with 28% for Mr Mwanawasa.
Parliamentary poll
Legislative election results also show Mr Sata's Patriotic Front leading.
Zambia has a total of four million registered voters, and officials said turnout for Thursday's election was high.
However government strongholds have yet to be counted.
Four million Zambians were registered to voteAfter the counting of about one million votes, Mr Sata had won a share of about 39%, with Mr Mwanawasa on 32%.
President Mwanawasa campaigned on the success of the Zambian economy, for which he has won international respect.
Hakainde Hichilema of the United Democratic Alliance, a wealthy businessman popular with the middle class, was on 27%.
Mr Sata accuses him of failing to reduce poverty.
In the parallel parliamentary poll, the electoral commission said Mr Sata's party had won 26 out of the 49 constituencies that had already reported. Zambia has a total of 150 constituencies.
Thursday's general election results were delayed after voting was extended in some remote western areas.
Mr Mwanawasa's campaign for a second and final five-year term was based on his strong economic record.
Election Commission President Chief Justice Ireen Mambilima urged Zambians to "keep cool" while waiting.
He and his backers have boasted about steady economic growth and success in getting most of the country's foreign debt written off.
"There is no way the result can be rigged," she said, adding people should not force officials to take short-cuts.
The people of Zimbabwe are not suffering. They are much happier Michael Sata Voting in pictures Justice Mambilima said that turnout had been "overwhelming".
European Union monitors across the country reported no signs of trouble.
But EU chief observer Annemie Neytes said it was too early to give a verdict.
"The polling seems to have gone well but of course the most sensitive phase in the process has to begin," she told the BBC.
Economic success
Mr Mwanawasa and his backers have boasted about steady economic growth and success in getting most of the country's foreign debt written off.
But opposition supporters say ordinary people have yet to feel the affects of the economic reforms - the revival in the crucial copper sector is slow, unemployment is high and there is concern over health and education standards.
But opposition supporters say ordinary people have yet to feel the affects of the economic reforms - the revival in the crucial copper sector is slow, unemployment is high and there is concern over health and education standards.
Mr Sata has vowed to secure a more equitable distribution of wealth.
As he cast his vote in the capital, Lusaka, Mr Sata praised Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe for seizing white-owned land.
"Mugabe hasn't done anything wrong. It is the imperialists, the capitalist-roaders who say he is a villain," he said.
During the campaign, Mr Sata promised to expel those foreign business leaders he accuses of mistreating their Zambian workers.
But the president has been warning that a vote for Mr Sata could seriously damage Zambia's economic recovery.
The opposition vote is divided between the other two main candidates - Mr Sata, of the Patriotic Front, and Hakainde Hichilema of the United Democratic Alliance, which includes former President Kenneth Kaunda's party.
Mr Hichilema, a successful businessman, is a political novice but is expected to secure strong support - especially among the middle classes. Godfrey Miyanda and Kenny Ngondo also ran for president.
