Election posters could be seen all over urban areas of Mozambique ahead of Wednesday's legislative and presidential vote
Elections are being held held in Mozambique, with the ruling Frelimo party facing a tough challenge from longstanding opponent the Renamo party.
Frelimo has dominated the country's politics since independence from Portugal in 1975, but the last-minute entry of Renamo makes the presidential vote too tight to call.
Mozambique is one of Africa's fastest-growing economies.
The vote winner will control natural resources worth billions of dollars.
Mozambique was battered by 16 years of conflict between Frelimo and Renamo, which ended in 1992, after the deaths of an estimated one million people.
Mozambique has immense riches but also pockets of extreme poverty
President Arrnando Guebuza (left) and former Renamo rebel leader Afonso Dhlakama agreed on a peace accord in September
More than 10.7 million people are registered to vote in the country's 11 provinces
Renamo took up arms again in 2013 but in August agreed a ceasefire.
Correspondents say that there were several clashes during campaigning.
The opposition argues that only a small elite associated with Frelimo have reaped the benefits of Mozambique's new-found prosperity. It points out that although Mozambique has huge untapped resources of coal and natural gas, it is also one of the world's poorest countries.
A relatively new party, the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), led by the mayor of the second city, Beira, has also been gaining ground and could make gains in the parliamentary vote.
Correspondents say that Frelimo, which waged a 10-year battle for independence against colonial Portugal, has held on to power partly because of its liberation movement credentials but also because Renamo has failed until now to present a political alternative that reaches out beyond its core supporters.
President Armando Guebuza, a former millionaire businessman, is stepping down after serving the maximum two terms.
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