Millions of people are heading to the polls in Mozambique\u2019s general election after a heated campaign marred by sporadic violence and allegations of electoral fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Frelimo party, which has ruled the impoverished southern African country since independence from Portugal in 1975, is widely expected to beat its arch-rival, Renamo, a former rebel group turned main opposition party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Acceptance of the result has been seen as a key test of the fragile peace deal signed in August between the government and opposition rebels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMozambique has chosen to move forward peacefully,\u201d President Filipe Nyusi said on Tuesday. \u201cPeace means that everything must be done according to the rules.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nyusi, 60, is forecast to win a second five-year term despite chronic unrest and a financial crisis linked to alleged state corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrelimo is a machine,\u201d said Castro Davis, a 42-year-old public servant in the capital. Maputo, who predicts a \u201cstraightforward victory\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of Mozambique\u2019s 13 million registered voters were born after Frelimo came to power in 1975. The youth of voters has played a significant role in undermining support for ruling parties that seized power across Africa<\/a> in the aftermath of struggles against colonial regimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carlos Alberto, a 22-year-old student waiting to vote, said he wanted to see reforms in education, employment and housing. \u201cWe vote and then nothing happens,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to make changes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Renamo is predicted to win between three to five of Mozambique\u2019s 10 provinces for the first time, following a change in the law allowing voters to elect provincial governors. The party made gains in last year\u2019s municipal elections, winning eight town halls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Renamo\u2019s candidate, Ossufo Momade, 58, heads a party of former anti-communist rebels who fought a brutal civil war with Frelimo from 1975 to 1992, devastating the economy and leaving almost 1 million people dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The opposition party took up arms again between 2013 and 2016, but tensions remained until Nyusi and Momade signed a peace deal in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some experts fear the election could test the country\u2019s fragile peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alex Vines, the director of the Africa programme at the Chatham House thinktank, wrote in a report in September<\/a> that the polls \u201ccould make or break this new elite bargain\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ericino de Salema, of the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa, described the election as \u201ca test for democracy\u201d. \u201cFor the first time, the political geography of the country may change substantially. It may even lead to confrontation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The six-week election campaign was one of the most violent in the country\u2019s turbulent history, with candidates threatened, election material destroyed, and deadly clashes breaking out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The opposition has already accused Frelimo of tampering with the vote. Enrolment has more than doubled in the south-eastern Gaza province, a Frelimo bastion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week, the head of a local election observation mission was shot dead by members of a special police unit in Gaza\u2019s capital, Xai-Xai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lutero Simango, an MP for the country\u2019s third biggest party, MDM, accused Frelimo of \u201cusing all state means, including police and secret services, to intimidate people\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Frelimo suffered its worst result at the local elections of 2018 \u2013 51.8% \u2013 and has been severely weakened in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2016, it was revealed the government secretly borrowed $2bn, sparking the worst financial crisis in the country\u2019s history and uncovering a vast corruption network with links to the regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government is also battling to recover from two devastating cyclones in March, which displaced nearly 2 million people. Economic growth is estimated at about 2%<\/a>, well below the average of previous years and the lowest level since 2000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A complex insurgency by a little-known group of Islamic extremists in the far northern Muslim-majority Cabo Delgado province has killed more than 300 people and delayed the development of vast gas reserves that is hoped to put billions in state coffers and lift millions out of poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Twelve people were killed in an attack on a village last month by <\/a>extremists<\/a>. The government said nine \u201cevildoers\u201d had died in a military operation last week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Millions of people are heading to the polls in Mozambique\u2019s general election after a heated campaign marred by sporadic violence and allegations of electoral fraud. The Frelimo party, which has ruled the impoverished southern African country since independence from Portugal in 1975, is widely expected to beat its arch-rival, Renamo, a former rebel group turned main opposition party. Acceptance of… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3861"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3862,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3861\/revisions\/3862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}