Polls open in Mozambique

  1. Posted on Wednesday 28 October 2009 - 09:00
    Mernat
    Image of Mernat
    Mernat Mafirakurewa, AfricaNews in Johannesburg, South Africa
    Mozambique has begun voting in today's presidential, parliamentary and provincial elections. Current president Armando Guebuza is widely expected to retain power for another five years. It is expected that just under half the 22.9 million of the country's population are expected to vote today.
    mozambique
    The race for the president pits Guebuza alongside his longtime rival, Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama and Davis Simango of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), a splinter of Renamo.

    Dhlakama, who led a 16-year guerrilla war against Frelimo, is also trying to court the foreign capital that helped the agriculture-dependent economy grow more than 6 percent last year. Expansion is forecast at 4.5 percent for 2009.

    "It's quite clear that he will win but I don't expect him to get an absolute majority in parliament because most of the voters were neither born during the liberation struggle nor the devastating 16-year war against Renamo," said political analyst Gil Laureciano told Reuters.

    "They don't care about what happened in the past, so they will be voting for better job opportunities, for quality education and housing."

    Despite close to 30 parties registering for the poll only 19 successfully complied with country’s electoral body.

    Only Frelimo and Renamo have been allowed to contest every constituency for the 250 seats in parliament.

    Frelimo, which has ruled the former Portuguese colony since elections in 1994, won 160 seats in parliament in 2004.

    Meanwhile João Pereira, a political scientist at Maputo's Eduardo Mondlane University told South African media that the ruling party was by far better resourced compared to the opposition.

    Pereira said Mozambique was a softer version of Zimbabwe. "In a country with towering unemployment, a political career is a way to survive … So the elections are just a blueprint for how the elite in Frelimo and Renamo [the main opposition party] will share the cake.

    "None of our politicians are truly interested in providing improved service to the people."

    As a result, many citizens of Mozambique -- which numbers 172 of 182 countries in the United Nations Human Development Index -- have turned their back on democracy, said Luís de Brito of Maputo's Institute for Socioeconomic Studies.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive