drift of Kaunda from Christian orthodoxy were exacerbated when Kaunda alleged "churches were preaching hatred" in response to negative articles about his regime in two Christian publications. Possibly in an attempt to antagonise the churches even more Kaunda joined with a television project with the Marharishi Mahesh Yogi launching a scheme to make Zambia "Heaven on Earth"" Kaunda was forced in a television interview to deny practising Transcendental Meditation., this was televised on the state-run channel days before polling. Gifford notes that the response by senior pastors from Ndola, the principal town of the Copperbelt, was to call the project "demonic" and they "deplored the fact that the government 'had banned the registration of more churches but permitted occult systems to enter Zambia'". Smith observes that Fredrick Chiluba "was situated quite differently than Kaunda – politically and religiously speaking. Politically speaking he symbolised a new generation." not caught up in the dogma of the colonialism verses nationalism debate of Kaunda, but representing the developmental needs of Zambia. In the run up to the elections Chiluba was to use the rift between Kaunda and Christians to his advantage by emphasising his Christianity. He "stressed (and his supporters stressed even more) his impeccable credentials as a true spirit-filled believer. Christian motifs were introduced into the political struggle – the diminutive Chiluba being frequently referred to as David challenging Goliath, and even more frequently as Moses, about to bring his people to freedom after almost forty years of fruitless wanderings in the wilderness." Phiri states that "Chiluba gained the support of the churches [while] Kaunda simultaneously lost his." At the election on 31 October 1991, Fredrick Chiluba "received 75.79% of the votes cast" and the MMD won 125 of the 150 seats in the national assembly in elections that, "international observers reported… had been conducted fairly". Haynes states that this was "brought about in part due to the perception that the previous government under K. Kaunda threatened the Church". Though opposition to SAPs had led to the elections the candidate's personalities their religious beliefs might have masked the economic concerns. Simutanyi notes that "during the election campaign the question of the economy was not given serious attention." The excitement elicited among ordinary Zambians at the opportunity to elect a party of their choice enabled the "erstwhile opponents of structural adjustment" to change political horses midstream and present their rendering of SAPs "as a