- Mozambican general election, 2009
-
Mozambique 
This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
Mozambique
General elections to elect the President, Assembly of the Republic, and Provincial Assemblies was held in Mozambique on 28 October 2009. Incumbent President Armando Guebuza ran for re-election as the FRELIMO candidate; he was challenged by opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama, who had stood as the RENAMO candidate in every presidential election since 1994. Also standing were Daviz Simango, the Mayor of Beira, who was a RENAMO member before founding his own party, the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), earlier in 2009.[1]
Contents
Campaign
Campaigning for the election began on 13 September 2009. There were 17 parties and two coalitions competing in the parliamentary election. Provincial assemblies were also at stake in the election.[2] Citing problems in the papers submitted by the MDM when it filed to run, the National Elections Commission barred it from contesting the parliamentary election in nine out of 13 regions. Simango, who insisted there were no problems with the papers, was allowed to stand as a presidential candidate.[3]
Prior to the election, Guebuza was heavily favored to win another term, and RENAMO, mired in a bitter feud with Simango and the MDM, was thought to have been seriously weakened since the previous election, held in 2004.[2] On 14 October 2009, 20 minor parties backed Simango's candidacy. The Independent Party of Mozambique (PIMO), another minor party, chose to support Guebuza.[4]
On the last day of campaigning, 25 October, each of the three main candidates held major rallies. At FRELIMO's rally in Nampula, Guebuza stressed a commitment to fighting poverty and working for "national unity, peace and development". Dhlakama concluded his campaign with rallies in Maputo, and he criticized the predominant role of FRELIMO in society: "Everything is mixed together today in Mozambique. The party, the police, schools, roads, journalists—everything has to be through FRELIMO. This has to stop." Simango, meanwhile, held his last rally in Beira, declaring that it was time to "end the games, end the abuses"; he pointed to the problems of unemployment and lack of medicine in hospitals when urging his supporters to turn out for the vote.[5]
Voting at central Maputo's Polana secondary school on election day, Dklahama said that if he lost the election he would not run for President again. He also called for a high turnout, while stressing the importance of respecting the results and avoiding a post-election dispute.[6]
Results
According to provisional results announced on 2 November, incumbent president Guebuza won a landslide victory with about 75% of the vote. Turnout was estimated at about 42%.[7] SADC observers said the election result was "a true reflection of the will of the people of Mozambique".[8] Opposition party RENAMO was less content with the electoral conduct, demanding that the election be annulled.[9] According to RENAMO spokesperson Ivone Soares, FRELIMO supporters stuffed ballot boxes with multiple votes and were assisted in doing so by the electoral commission, which provided them with additional ballot papers. A FRELIMO spokesperson, Edson Macuacua, dismissed the allegations, asserting that the election was free and fair and characterizing RENAMO as "lost and desperate".[10]
On 11 November, the National Elections Commission officially announced that Guebuza had won the election with 75% of the vote; Dhlakama and Simango trailed with 16.5% and 8.6% respectively. Results for the parliamentary election were also announced, showing that FRELIMO had won 191 seats, followed by RENAMO with 51 seats and eight for the MDM.[11] The Constitutional Council confirmed the results on 28 December. Continuing to allege fraud, Dhlakama said that RENAMO would boycott the opening of parliament.[12]
After the newly-elected deputies were sworn in, they elected Veronica Macamo, a FRELIMO Deputy, as President of the Assembly of the Republic in January 2010. Macamo was the only candidate for the position.[12]
Presidential election
Summary of the 28 October 2009 Mozambican presidential election results Candidates - Parties Votes % Armando Guebuza - Liberation Front of Mozambique (FRELIMO) 2,974,627 75.00 Afonso Dhlakama - Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) 650,679 16.41 Daviz Simango - Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM) 340,579 8.59 Total (turnout 44.52%) 3,965,785 100.00 Source: AIM - Mozambique News Agency Assembly election
Summary of the 28 October 2009 Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique election results Parties Votes % Seats +/– Liberation Front of Mozambique (Frente de Libertação de Moçambique, FRELIMO) 2,907,335 74.66 191 +31 Mozambican National Resistance (Resistência Nacional Moçambicana, RENAMO) 688,782 17.68 51 –39 Democratic Movement of Mozambique (Movimento Democrático de Moçambique, MDM) 152,836 3.93 8 +8 Others 3.73 0 ±0 Total (turnout 44.4 %) 100.00 250 ±0 Source: AIM - Mozambique News Agency Provincial elections
Province FRELIMO RENAMO MDM Cabo Delgado Province 73 8 0 Gaza Province All 0 0 Inhambane Province All 0 0 Manica Province 61 19 0 Maputo City Maputo Province 75 5 0 Nampula 78 11 2 Niassa 66 2 2 Sofala 59 1 20 Tete 75 5 0 Zambezia 57 31 0 Source allafrica.com References
- ^ "Mozambique opposition chief to do it again", Sapa-AFP (IOL), 24 July 2009.
- ^ a b "Campaigning begins in Mozambique", Sapa-AFP (IOL), 14 September 2009.
- ^ "New party protest ahead of election", Sapa-Associated Press (IOL), 27 October 2009.
- ^ "Mozambique groups campaign for challenger", Sapa-DPA (IOL), 16 October 2009.
- ^ Joshua Howat Berger, "Leaders rally on eve of polls in Mozambique", Sapa-AFP (IOL), 26 October 2009.
- ^ "Dhlakama casts his vote", Sapa, 28 October 2009.
- ^ "AIM Reports". Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. 5 November 2009. http://www.poptel.org.uk/mozambique-news/newsletter/aim389.html. Retrieved 2009-11-06.
- ^ "Mozambique: SADC Parliamentary Forum Praises Election". AllAfrica.com / AIM. 31 October 2009. http://allafrica.com/stories/200911021441.html. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
- ^ "Mozambique: Renamo Demands New Elections". AllAfrica.com / AIM. 31 October 2009. http://allafrica.com/stories/200911021442.html. Retrieved 2009-11-03.
- ^ Charles Mangwiro, "Renamo rejects poll results", Reuters (IOL), 4 November 2009.
- ^ "Mozambique's Guebuza re-elected in landslide", AFP, 11 November 2009.
- ^ a b "First woman speaker elected in Moz", Sapa (IOL), 12 January 2009.
External links
Elections in MozambiquePresidential elections Parliamentary elections Provincial elections 2009District elections 1998 · 2003 · 2008
This African election-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
