East Timor's ruling party Fretilin has accused the favourite in next week's presidential elections, Jose Ramos Horta, of buying votes.
Campaigning for the second round of the poll is becoming increasingly acrimonious. And as SBS correspondent Brian Thomson reports, the Australian-led International Security Force is in Fretilin's sights.
The campaign for the second round of the presidential elections on Wednesday is drawing to a close and the political temperature is rising. Fretilin, for so long the dominant party here, has been accused of countless irregularities. Now it's turning the tables. It says it has evidence that Jose Ramos Horta has been buying votes.
Jose Teixeira, Energy Minister: Money was distributed and that people received money to vote for and others to mobilise in the first round of the ballot on April 9. The visual recording shows two voters testifying that the candidate Ramos Horta personally handed out money in return for votes.
Mr Ramos Horta has denied the claim. But he is not the only one under attack. The Fretilin leadership has accused the Australian-led International Security Force of taking sides in this campaign. It says it lied when it claimed that weapons were found recently in a Fretilin convoy. Now it's accusing the ISF of attempting to inflame tensions by leaving weaponry and ammunition lying in the streets.
Mari Alkatiri, former Fretilin PM: (translator) Why was this weapon lying on the ground? Was it a trap? We don't know.
The Australian Army has refused to respond directly to the allegations but it has released a statement. It concedes that a rifle did fall from a vehicle but it says it was recovered immediately with the assistance of members of the public.
As for the allegations of bias, it says it is here at the invitation of the Government of East Timor, and it does not take sides. But that's not how Dr Mari Alkatiri sees it. Whipping up the crowds in Dili today, he railed against the ISF. He said the crowd was so small because oppressive security had prevented people from coming. He says it's become a feature of the campaign. The foreign soldiers do have widespread support here, but it's clear that Fretilin is becoming increasingly hostile to their presence.
In East Timor, Brian Thomson, World News Australia.