Maputo — A vote for Mozambique's ruling Frelimo Party is a vote to continue the fight against poverty, declared the party's presidential candidate and incumbent, Armando Guebuza, on Monday, in Zavala district, in the southern province of Inhambane.

He admitted that many Mozambicans still live in poverty, and that there is a long way to go before the scourge of poverty is eradicated.

A prerequisite for success, he added, was to strengthen national unity. "Without unity, we can do nothing", Guebuza warned.

He insisted that all registered voters should make sure they go to the polls on 28 October. "Voting is like eating", said Guebuza. "The difference is that you vote every five years, and you eat all the time. You can't tell somebody else to vote for you, just as you can't tell anybody else to eat for you".

At the locality of Mocumbi, in Inharrime district, Guebuza received a pledge of support from demobilized soldiers. Here a local representative of AMODEG, the main association of former soldiers, declared "We are very satisfied with the leadership of President Guebuza. We recognise that many difficulties still exist, but we are convinced that only with President Guebuza and with Frelimo can these difficulties be overcome".

Guebuza told this rally "Mozambicans have plenty of resources, so they don't need to be poor. You've talked about water shortages, but we have plenty of rivers here that we have not yet managed to exploit for our own benefit".

The failure to use the resources that exist was itself a sign of poverty. To overcome that poverty, and to ensure that the country will have more water, more jobs, more electricity, more schools and hospitals, "we have to be able to choose those who will work for these goals".

"I and Frelimo have already shown that we know how to do this", he added, "because our desire is to satisfy the will of the people, and when we run into difficulties we will come back to the people and seek their advice".

As on previous occasions, Guebuza insisted that the elections must be held in a peaceful and orderly atmosphere. "We have to ensure that these elections are an example, not only for Mozambicans, but also for other countries", he said. "We Mozambicans want peace, and we are struggling to have peace, peace that we want to continue".