CONGO: Despite the fact that it has pitted the country's two major players against each other, the Democratic Republic of Congo's presidential run-off has been noticeably quieter than the first round of elections.
The tension in the run-up to tomorrow's vote peaked yesterday, when fighters loyal to presidential hopeful Jean-Pierre Bemba ran the son of former Zairean dictator Mobutu Sese Seko out of his father's hometown of Gbadolite.
Like his father before him, Nzanga Mobutu left the tiny northern town, situated in the middle of the equatorial rainforest, with the sound of gunshots ringing in his ears.
Mobutu jnr was campaigning in Gbadolite on behalf of outgoing Congolese president Joseph Kabila, whose alliance he joined in a surprising move last month.
After coming fourth in this summer's first-round presidential elections, with almost 5 per cent of the vote, Mr Mobutu brings more than just the family name to the table.
Times have changed, however, in the town that once played host to his father's palace, and which boasted, among other excesses, a landing strip capable of accommodating regular flights by Concorde.
Marshal Mobutu fled his jungle folly in 1996, as a rebel alliance organised, supplied and led by Zaire's tiny neighbours, Rwanda and Uganda, swept across the vast central African nation.
That short war put Mr Kabila's father, Laurent, into power. In 1998, Rwanda and Uganda invaded again, this time to get rid of Laurent Kabila.
During the five years of conflict that ensued, Jean-Pierre Bemba's Ugandan-backed Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC) controlled Gbadolite.
An irate Nzanga Mobutu tried to gain access to a radio station in his father's former playground on Thursday after he was derided in one of its broadcasts. United Nations troops had to rescue Mr Mobutu after a gun battle erupted with the station's MLC guards.
It is understood that Mr Mobutu threatened to evict Radio Liberté FM from a building which he said belonged to his father. During the confrontation Mr Mobutu's guards, made up of demobilised local soldiers, attempted to seize arms from the local Congolese army weapons depot. They abandoned their attempt when they discovered that the weapons had been decommissioned one day previously by a Monuc force.
Mr Bemba may take some pleasure in Mr Mobutu's misfortune, considering the fact that the Bemba camp perceived Nzanga's joining Kabila's alliance as something of a betrayal.
The families' intimacy, which dates back to the heyday of Mobutu snr, is underlined by the fact that Mr Bemba's younger sister Cathy is married to Mr Mobutu. Joseph Kabila's alliance, however, has become an almost irresistible force in the Congolese political landscape.
Third-placed presidential hopeful Antoine Gizenga joined the alliance after his party was promised the post of prime minister. The addition of Mr Gizenga, a 1960s revolutionary who won 13 per cent of the vote, is a huge boost to Mr Kabila's chances.
Notably, it gives him a foothold in Kinshasa, where he was beaten four to one by Mr Bemba in the first round.
A massive rally by Bemba supporters in Kinshasa, meanwhile, planned for yesterday, was called off at the last minute. A live candidates' debate was also cancelled.
Both Mr Kabila and Mr Bemba have gone on a charm offensive in the run-up to tomorrow's vote, with the latter ditching a brightly patterned Congolese shirt he wore in his last poster campaign for a more statesmanlike business suit.
Similarly, he seems to have made efforts to reign in his supporters.
President Kabila, meanwhile, has gone as far as commissioning a special documentary about his family's revolutionary origins in response to persistent speculation over his birth and upbringing, which has seen him labelled a "foreigner".