MAPUTO – Mozambicans are expected to turn out in large numbers on Wednesday for an election that will choose a successor to President Filipe Nyusi after his two terms.
Close to 17 million voters in the southern African nation of 31 million people are registered to vote for the next president along with 250 members of parliament and provincial assemblies.
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While the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique, or Frelimo, is widely expected to retain power, at least four candidates have been campaigning to bring change to a country which faces a yearslong jihadist insurgency in its north and whose long Indian Ocean coastline is vulnerable to extreme climate conditions like flooding.
Over 1.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to the insurgency, while millions more have faced severe food shortages due to drought.
The local elections held in Mozambique a year ago were marred by allegations of vote-rigging and fraud, sparking violent protests in the capital, Maputo, and surrounding areas. This time, concerns have been muted.
Here's what to know about Wednesday's vote:
Who is running?
The ruling Frelimo party, which has been in power since independence from Portugal in 1975, has fielded David Chapo as its presidential candidate. The 47-year-old Chapo is a former governor of the southern province of Inhambane, a strong driver of the country's tourism economy.
Chapo is expected to face the most competition from 50-year-old Venacio Mondlane, a banker and forestry engineer who runs as an independent candidate under the slogan “Save Mozambique, this country’s ours" and has drawn large crowds.
Mondlane is backed by the Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique, or Podemos, set up by dissidents from the ruling party. He ran as a mayoral candidate in local elections last year, and his supporters alleged that he won but was robbed.
The Democratic Movement of Mozambique has fielded Lutero Simango. His party was created in 2008, breaking away from the rebel group-turned-opposition party Mozambique National Resistance, or Renamo. Simango's party resonates with youth because of its policies on inequality and jobs.
Renamo is represented by Ossufo Momade, who became the party's head after the death of the charismatic Afonso Dhlakama, a former rebel leader who died in 2018.
What are the issues?
Mozambique has been fighting an Islamic State-affiliated group that has launched attacks on communities in the northern province of Cabo Delgado since 2017, including beheadings.
Around 600,000 of the 1.3 million people who fled have since returned home, many to shattered communities where houses, markets, churches, schools and health facilities have been destroyed, the United Nations said earlier this year.
The candidates have promised to address development issues exacerbated by the insurgency, including the halting of a crucial gas project by French energy company TotalEnergies in northern Mozambique as a result of the extremist rebel insurgency there.
Mozambique also faces high levels of unemployment and hunger, exacerbated by El Nino-induced severe drought. According to the U.N. World Food Program, 1.3 million people face severe food shortages.
The ruling Frelimo party has been tainted by corruption scandals, including the so-called “tuna bond” scandal in which former finance minister Manuel Chang was jailed earlier this year for taking payoffs to arrange secret loan guarantees for government-controlled fishing companies.
The loans were plundered, and Mozambique ended up with $2 billion in “hidden debt,” spurring a financial crisis as the International Monetary Fund halted financial support.
When will we know the election winner?
There is just one day of voting and counting starts immediately, with partial results announced as they trickle in. Official results will be announced by the National Election Commission after 15 days and subsequently validated by the Constitutional Council. Any party may file objections with the council, which will decide whether they have merit.
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Magome reported from Johannesburg.
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