A strident populist promising to take a firmer hand with foreign investors and aid donors is emerging as the frontrunner in Zambia’s closely fought election, a state-owned newspaper reported on Friday.

While official results from Thursday’s poll are not expected before Saturday, the state-owned Zambia Daily Mail reported that maverick opposition candidate Michael Sata had a “commanding” lead over Levy Mwanawasa, Zambia’s technocratic incumbent president, in districts around the country.