Maputo — The opposition Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) in the central province of Manica says it has evidence, in the form of video tapes, of attempts made by supporters of the ruling Frelimo Party to sabotage its campaign.

The director of the MDM's Manica provincial elections office, Tanger Maria de Jesus, promised that the party will release the tapes in the last week of the current election campaign.

He said that the MDM has armed itself with video equipment, to report events as they unfold. The footage will be released to the Mozambican media and on the Internet.

He complained of repeated harassment and provocations aimed at the MDM campaign by Frelimo group. Even the MDM leader and presidential candidate Daviz Simango did not escape when he passed through Manica last Thursday.

Apart from the "provocations", Tanger de Jesus thought the MDM campaign in Manica was going well. "People no longer need to chase after the politicians in large rallies", he said, "because they know what they want and who they're going to vote for".

He said that, because the MDM's candidates were only accepted for four of the 13 parliamentary constituencies, the party is concentrating all its efforts on the presidential election.

However, there were still hopes that possibly the appeals body, the Constitutional Council, might change its mind. The Council ruled in favour of the decision by the National Elections Commission (CNE) that the MDM had only presented valid lists for four constituencies.

The MDM claims that it submitted the required documents but these were stolen inside the CNE. It is now trying to initiate criminal proceedings against the CNE. Tanger de Jesus, who is a member of the MDM National Council, claimed that the party had been the victim "of a huge illegality", and that if the Constitutional Council were to understand that, it might change its verdict.