Maputo — Mozambican President Armando Guebuza has called on all registered voters to go early to the polling stations and turn Wednesday's general and provincial elections into "a moment of festivity, peace and harmony".

Guebuza, who is standing for a second term of office, was speaking moments after he had voted in a polling station in a Maputo secondary school. He was one of the first to vote, immediately after polling opened, at 07.00.

"I urge all Mozambicans to participate, because the elections are fundamental to our lives, and that they do so within the festive spirit that we saw during the election campaign", he said.

There should be no violence during the voting, Guebuza insisted. He expressed his confidence that turnout in these elections would be much higher than in 2004, when less than 40 per cent of the registered voters bothered to cast their ballots. He based this optimism on the great enthusiasm he had seen during the six week long election campaign.

Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the main opposition party, Renamo, who is standing for the presidency for the fourth time, told reporters after he had voted that "People want change, they want their rights".

"I hope that for the first time we have credible elections", said Dhlakama, repeating his well-worn claim that all previous elections in Mozambique had been "irregular" and "fraudulent".

He called on election observers "to open their eyes. We should not repeat history, where those who win are called losers".

Dhlakama's claim that in reality Renamo has won every election in Mozambique, but its votes have been "stolen" by the ruling Frelimo Party, has never been supported by any credible national or foreign observer group.

The third presidential candidate, Daviz Simango, leader of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), voted in his home city of Beira, where is the mayor. Like his two rivals, he called for a mass turnout. He told reporters he was leaving the results "in the hands of God".

Reports from across the country, broadcast on Radio Mozambique, indicate that the great majority of polling stations opened, as planned, at 07.00, and queues of people anxious to cast their votes quickly built up.

A few hitches were reported here and there. Thus a group of eight polling stations in Maputo's second urban district did not open on time because a group of youngsters objected to polling station staff placing elderly voters at the head of the queue. The staff were acting in line with the electoral regulations, which state that the elderly, the disabled and pregnant women must be allowed to vote first.

In Mandimba district, in the northern province of Niassa, voters from one village found they were unable to walk to the polling station because a herd of elephants had blocked the path.

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