HARARE -- Zimbabweans who could afford it were battening down the hatches and making plans to leave the country yesterday amid reports of a massive army deployment in advance of this weekend's bitterly contested presidential election.

The government has withdrawn troops from the civil war in neighbouring Congo, cancelled all leave for soldiers and placed Zimbabwe's 70,000-strong armed forces on high alert in anticipation of postelectoral instability, the independent Financial Gazette newspaper reported yesterday.

The army's mechanized battalion -- its most heavily armoured force, with more than 3,000 troops, tanks, armoured vehicles and mobile rocket units -- was observed leaving its barracks yesterday morning, said Michael Quintana, editor of the Harare-based on-line African Defence Journal.

He said thousands of troops have been seen deploying around the country.

"They're being spread around like pieces on a chess board," conducting scenario training and distributing arms, Mr. Quintana said. "There have been reports of troops receiving special training in the southeastern highlands, where tear-gas canisters were being dropped from the air and soldiers were given lessons in crowd control."

Officials from the ruling party denied the reports.

"It's madness to think that ZANU-PF, which is set to win this election, can stage a coup against itself," state television quoted Information Minister Jonathan Moyo as saying.

The presidential campaign has already been marred by accusations that the incumbent, Robert Mugabe, has been encouraging violence against followers of opponent Morgan Tsvangirai, whom, in a desperate bid to cling to power, the President calls a stooge of white and foreign interests.

There have also been allegations of vote rigging.

With just one day to go, the country's 5.7 million voters had yet to learn exactly when the 4,500 polling stations will be open or even where they are, and the voters' roll had not been made public.

Although Mr. Tsvangirai spoke of forging a unity government yesterday, he has previously warned of an uprising if he loses.

Fears of postelection violence rose again after a government official told South African television that military intervention could follow a victory for Mr. Tsvangirai.

"Many, many of us did not go to fight the settler regime in order to install a British puppet like Tsvangirai," external-affairs chief Didymus Mutasa said. "Under these circumstances, if there were to be a coup, we would support it very definitely."

Amid fears that the violence could spiral out of control, many Zimbabweans were making contingency plans.

At an Italian bakery in the upmarket Harare neighbourhood of Avondale, a white man who works in the security field unzipped his bulky wallet to reveal a box of bullets. "I'm probably being paranoid; I guess that's the nature of my business, but I stocked up with these today and I feel safer for it," he said.

In Ruwa, 20 kilometres outside the capital, a tall black man was packing his family into the family car for the drive north to Lake Kariba, on the border with Zambia.

"I'm going fishing," he said.

"If the worst comes to the worst, we can sail across to safety."

Some people were stocking up with provisions to avoid venturing onto the streets in the event of trouble. Others were sending family members abroad or to safe houses, and making rapid exit plans.

Zimbabwe's about 4,000 white commercial farmers, most of whose farms have been invaded by land-hungry poor "war veterans" encouraged by the ruling party, have worked out security strategies at the district level, especially in government strongholds.

"They've been improving communication networks and making plans in case the situation gets out of hand," said Ben Zietsman of the Commercial Farmers Union. "Farmers are staying home to look after their assets, but quite a few have sent their families into towns."

One farmer was less political.

"Nobody's getting in here without a fight. I'm armed and dangerous," he said. "I'm voting and then heading for South Africa, with our kids," said his wife.

At least Zimbabwe's middle classes have options. That is not the case for country's poor black majority. "We're expecting trouble and we're scared, but we're definitely going to vote," said an office cleaner who lives in sprawling Chitungwiza, south of the capital. "There is no safety in our small homes. . . . All we can do is hope."