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Writes Charles Mangwiro
MAPUTO (Mozambique) – The United Nations Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Mozambique, Dr. Catherine Sozi has called for peaceful Mozambique general elections due on October 9 to choose the country’s next president and 250 members of parliament.
“A peaceful and democratic electoral process is essential for the prosperity and stability of any nation”, Dr. Sozi said in a media statement on Friday.
He added “I encourage all Mozambican citizens to exercise their democratic rights responsibly and peacefully, by participating in the electoral process and by casting their votes on the Election Day.
The United Nations stands with Mozambique during this crucial time, to make the General Elections a celebration of democracy, where the voices of the people are heard, their choices respected and their votes count”.
According to the U.N. diplomat, by doing so, democracy is strengthened and a brighter future for all Mozambicans is guaranteed.
Currently, a 45-day election campaign began almost two weeks ago with four hopefuls looking to succeed President Filipe Nyusi who will step down in January at the end of his second five-year term.
In Mozambique, traditionally, protests and clashes between party supporters, as well as with security forces, are likely. Protests are especially likely in large urban areas, opposition strongholds, and the northern provinces of Cabo Delgado, Nampula, and Niassa. Disruptions to urban and intercity road travel, business operations, and telecommunications are likely amid significant bouts of civil unrest or preemptive security operations.
More than 17 million registered voters in addition to 300 000 others in the diaspora will choose the country’s new head of state, 250 members of parliament, and 10 provincial governors in the October 9 election.
The ruling Frelimo party’s presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo, is expected to face a stiff challenge from Venancio Mondlane, who is running as an independent.
The other two candidates are Ossufo Momade of the former rebel-turned-opposition Renamo party and Lutero Simango of the Mozambique Democratic Movement.
The eventual winner will have to deal with the long-running insurgency in the oil- and gas-rich province of Cabo Delgado as well as widespread corruption and high levels of youth unemployment.
These will be Mozambique’s seventh general elections since multiparty democratic elections were introduced in 1994, two years after the government signed a peace deal with Renamo to end a crippling 16-year civil war that left more than one million people dead and close to one million others internally displaced.
Renamo has never won a national election since then and Frelimo has ruled Mozambique since 1975 when the country won independence from Portugal.