While acknowledging that the December 27, 2001 tripartite elections were flawed, the Zambia's highest appeal court ruled on Wednesday, February 16 that the irregularities had not affected the final result, and declined to order a recount of election results.
Three opposition parties the United Party for National Development (UPND), the Forum for Democracy and Development and the Heritage Party petitioned the election of Mr Mwanawasa alleging that it was fraudulent.
The three parties filed their complaints in January 2002, just 14 days after Mwanawasa took office, alleging that the poll had been rigged, and that the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy had used state funds to buy campaign vehicles - a violation of Zambian law.
The petitioners were seeking an order for scrutiny, re-count and verification.
Delivering a 12-hour judgement in the capital city, Lusaka, a full bench led by Chief Justice Ernest Sakala admitted that there were flaws in the electoral process that affected all presidential candidates and did not in any way advantage President Mwanawasa.
Justice Sakala said despite the electoral process not being perfect, the election was held in conformity with the law.
On scrutiny, the bench said there was no evidence while on verification, the court felt that two constituencies that had verification exercise could not justify a scrutiny for the whole country.
Reacting to the ruling, President Mwanawasa says he would have stepped down had the Supreme Court ruled that he wasn't duly elected.
Mr Mwanawasa said: "Like I promised, I was ready to step down if the courts found that I wasn't duly elected. But since I was properly elected, I won't step down."
Mr Mwanawasa said now that the Presidential petition was done with, it was time for all the people, including members of opposition parties who wanted to see development come to the country, to work together and address the problems that had besieged the country.
The judgement has however attracted sharp criticism from the opposition and NGOs, who have raised concerns over the independence of the judiciary and the country's electoral laws.
"The judiciary is itself under trial" Christon Tembo, president of the opposition party, FDD.
UPND president Anderson Mazoka blamed the judicial system over the presidential petition outcome.
Mazoka was quoted by the British Broadcasting Corporation as saying the petition outcome was not in the best interest of the general public and said he had lost trust in the country's judicial system.
And a lecturer in the department of Philosophy and Applied Ethics at the University of Zambia Austin Mbozi said the three political parties should have not taken the petition to court because the issue was political.
Mr Mbozi said it was important that political parties should concentrate on making sure that some sections in the constitution that pertains to the electoral process were addressed by the next elections due in 2006.
While the judgement headed off fears of a constitutional crisis, observers said the ruling illustrated the need to reform the country's electoral laws.
The petitioners were also seeking Mwanawasa picked up nearly 29 percent of the vote in the 2001 poll, followed closely by Mazoka, who garnered about 27 percent.
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