Arnie absent from California debate

Fellow candidates have criticised Schwarzenegger's no-show

Leading hopefuls for the post of governor of California are set to take part in the first televised debate of the campaign - but film star Arnold Schwarzenegger will not be among them.

Republican Mr Schwarzenegger turned down the invitation, opting instead to attend a rally at California State University in Long Beach.

Fellow contenders accuse the former body builder of running scared of debating the issues. He has only agreed to take part in one debate, later this month, where the questions will be made available to him in advance.

Voters in California go to the polls on 7 October in an election called due to growing dissatisfaction with Democrat Governor Gray Davis' handling of the state's economic crisis.

They will be asked to vote firstly on whether Mr Davis should stay in his post and secondly on which of the 135 candidates should take over the governorship if he is ousted.

'Direct contact'

The first part of Tuesday's debate will focus solely on Mr Davis with voters and reporters quizzing him on his record in office.

In the second part of the programme, the leading replacement candidates will take the stage to debate the issues with the audience and between themselves.

But Mr Schwarzenegger's no-show is dominating the headlines even before the debate goes to air.

Mr Bustamante is making a strong showing

"A candidate who won't debate his opponents on the most important issues facing the state in a century can't be considered a serious candidate," said Republican senator and gubernatorial candidate Tom McClintock.

"The voters deserve to hear all of us discuss our plans to put California back on track," said another Republican candidate, former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth.

"I don't think he's capable of answering the questions yet," said Richie Ross, advisor to Democrat Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante who has a strong showing in the polls.

He is the only Democrat standing as a replacement for Governor Davis.

But Mr Schwarzenegger has rejected the criticism of his decision not to take part.

"I would rather just go out and have direct contact with the people, go to television stations and radio stations and do interviews... and get the message out there," he said in a radio interview.

The five candidates to appear on Tuesday will be: Mr McClintock, Mr Ueberroth, Mr Bustamante, Arianna Huffington (independent) and Peter Camejo (Green).