Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.
"If you lose you must surrender," the 89-year-old said at a rare press conference in response to a question about what he would do if he lost.
Mugabe, through a series of violent and suspect elections, has ruled Zimbabwe for 33 years uninterrupted since it gained independence from Britain.
But he denied any attempts to rig the election, declaring: "We have done no cheating".
He faces a major challenge from Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, his reluctant partner in an uneasy power-sharing government forged after the last bloody polls in 2008.
Although tainted by sex scandals and allegations of party corruption, Tsvangirai has rallied tens of thousands of supporters on to the streets ahead of the vote.
But Mugabe's foes fear the wily old crocodile of Zimbabwean politics will seek to win what is likely his final election by hook or crook. – AFP