Campaign fever grips Mozambique

On October 15, Mozambicans will choose a successor to President Armando Guebuza, who is barred by the constitution from running for a third term. The ruling Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO) is fielding Filipe Nyusi instead (photo). The main opposition candidates are Afonso Dhlakama of the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) and Daviz Simango of the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM).

Campaigning officially began on August 31, but Afonso Dhlakama started his campaign five days late. His party, RENAMO, had been waging a low-level insurgency against the government until August. Fearing for his safety, Dhlakama had remained hiding in the Gorongosa region in the interior of the country.

Dhlakama first appeared in public at a rally in the central Mozambican city of Chimoio on September 5. After the campaign started, he travelled to Maputo, the capital, to sign a peace agreement with the government. Only then was RENAMO prepared to participate in the elections.

Hundreds of RENAMO supporters celebrated Dhlakama's arrival in Maputo. The capital lies in the country's South, traditionally FRELIMO heartland. Opposition rallies there are often disrupted by FRELIMO supporters. But according to observers from the independent Center for Public Integrity (CIP), there have been fewer incidences of violence this year than during previous campaigns.

Campaigning is not easy for the opposition. Its posters are routinely torn down. In Gaza, a southern province of Mozambique, FRELIMO supporters forcibly prevented campaign rallies of the MDM, Mozambique's third-largest party, without the police intervening. Gaza has long been a FRELIMO stronghold. No one from the opposition has ever been elected to the country's parliament there.

According to independent CIP observers, only members of the opposition were arrested during clashes between the various camps. Several MDM members in Nampula, in northern Mozambique, said they were tortured by police officers and sexually molested or raped by other inmates. The police have denied the accusations.

At a major intersection in northern Mozambique, an enormous poster urges people to vote for Filipe Nyusi, FRELIMO's presidential candidate. The party has been in power since Mozambique's independence in 1975.

On motorcycles, RENAMO campaigners whip up support for the party's leader, Dhlakama. With more than two million prospective voters, the province of Nampula is Mozambique's largest voting district. 47 lawmakers, a fifth of the country's parliament, are elected in this province. The outcome of any election may well be decided here, which is why campaigners traditionally focus on this district.

FRELIMO, too, is highly visible in Nampula. The seat of the party is almost completely covered with posters and flags. From here, trucks take supporters and party members to presidential candidate Nyusi's campaign rallies.

FRELIMO supporters can be seen all over the country, displaying flags, wraparound skirts or T-shirts from the ruling party. Critics allege that government employees, among others, are pressured into campaigning for FRELIMO, whereas opposition supporters have to reckon with adverse consequences, such as disciplinary transfers, if they campaign openly for RENAMO or the MDM.

The ruling party is extremely well organized and even reaches small villages via local representatives. Critics accuse the party of using state resources to this end. In contrast, the opposition only has a rudimentary network at its disposal.

In the shadow of FRELIMO, RENAMO and MDM, small parties such as the Independent Party of Mozambique (PIMO), are almost invisible. Their campaign posters can only be found in a few places. So far PIMO does not have a seat in parliament. In this election, too, the small parties are hardly thought to stand a chance.