A joint campaign by seven political parties to hit the hustings in Lospalos Monday was called off because transportation promised by UNTAET failed to turn up.

"Since seven in the morning all the political party candidates had been waiting for the promised UNTAET transport at the Dili headquarters. The transport just did not show up," said Clementino Dos Reis Amaral, secretary-general of the Kota Party.

"We don't really know what happened. Is this a tactic to discourage us?" he asked. Clementino said the seven political parties will lodge an official complaint with UN Transitional Administrator Sergio Vieira de Mello.

The President of the Christian Democrat Party (PDC) Antonio Ximenes said UNTAET must not make empty promises. "If promises were not made by UNTAET, we could have arranged the transport ourselves," said Antonio.