Nampula — The Mozambican election campaign ended on Sunday, with the three presidential candidates making last minute calls for votes in widely separated parts of the country - Armando Guebuza, of the ruling Frelimo Party, in the northern city of Nampula, Afonso Dhlakama, of the main opposition party, Renamo, in Maputo and Gaza, in the south, and Daviz Simango, of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), in his stronghold of Beira.

In Nampula, Guebuza held the last of the 75 rallies he has addressed since the campaign began on 13 September. He noted that the campaign had largely been held in a festive mood, "because those who like tumults and disorder haven't found any space".

Mozambicans had shown once again that there is no alternative to peace, he stressed.

During the Frelimo campaign, he said, the message had been carried throughout the country that poverty is a scourge that all Mozambicans should fight against.

Preceding Guebuza, the Frelimo general secretary, Filipe Paunde, declared that wherever he had traveled during the campaign, Guebuza had received a vote of confidence from Frelimo militants and from the public in general.

The last five years, he said, had been "five years of marvels to which all the people have borne witness. We want these marvels to continue for the next five years".

Dhlakama did not close his campaign in Beira, as originally planned, no doubt because he did not want to clash with the rally that Simango had scheduled for Sunday.

Instead Dhlakama came to Maputo, and his motorcade visited markets and toured the main avenues of Maputo and Matola cities. Speaking at the sprawling Estrela Vermelha informal market, Dhlakama said that a Renamo government would work with the banks to provide credit at preferential interest rates to small traders.

He said that young people found themselves unable to set up micro-businesses because they could not obtain bank loans. "When I am in power I shall speak with the banks so that they review the kind of guarantee they demand before granting loans. We shall tell the banks to demand requirements that the small operators in our economy can meet. I am not saying that the banks should not demand anything, but that they should take into account assistance to small economic agents such as yourselves".

Dhlakama also claimed that the justice system is biased towards the ruling party, but that if he is elected he will establish "justice for all".

In mid-afternoon Dhlakama drove to Gaza - but he held no rallies in this province, traditionally a Frelimo stronghold. His visit to Gaza, however, allows him to state truthfully that he has set foot in all 11 provincial constituencies during the campaign.

In Beira, Simango addressed a large rally in the populous neighbourhood of Munhava (where Dhlakama had spoken on Saturday). He accused Frelimo of practicing "social exclusion", and called for a vote for the MDM in order to prevent the return to a one-party state.

Simango's rally was attended by a delegation from the Movement for Democratic change (MDC) of Zimbabwe.

Under Mozambican law, there can be no campaigning in the 48 hours before polling day. Thus Monday and Tuesday are "quiet days", during which the voters are supposed to make up their minds.

The polls open at 07.00 on Wednesday.