MOZAMBIQUE CHRONOLOGY 01-30 NOVEMBER 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/01-MZITEM NO. 99/11/01 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - ELECTIONS - CAMPAIGN-
Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano has described as highly positive the first ten
days of his campaign for re-election, which started on 19 October. Chissano drew up a
balance sheet of the campaign so far during a press conference on Sunday that followed a
rally attended by about 10,000 people in Lichinga, capital of the northernmost province of
Niassa. In the previous ten days, Chissano had travelled across four provinces - Zambezia,
Nampula, Cabo Delgado and Niassa -addressing 29 rallies. The attendance at these rallies
was never less than about 5,000. He interpreted the large attendance as a sign that people
are happy with the work done by the government during the last five years, particularly in
the rehabilitation and construction of social infrastructures such as schools and
hospitals, and in the fight against hunger and poverty. Chissano expressed satisfaction
not only with the large attendance at his rallies, but particularly because he found that
people's support for himself and for the ruling Frelimo Party is now stronger than it was
at the time of the first multiparty elections, in 1994. He said there is a clear
possibility that Frelimo may attain a two-thirds majority in the parliamentary elections
(which it will need if it is to amend the constitution).
From: Chissano winds up Campaign in Niassa / AIM / 1 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/01 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - AGRICULTURE - REGIONAL COOPERATION
The Mozambican and South African governments are seeking a replacement for the South
African Chamber for Agricultural Development in Africa (SACADA) in the Mosagrius
programme, as from this November. Under the Mosagrius programme a small number of South
African commercial farmers (never more than 14) have attempted to set up farms in the
northernmost Mozambican province of Niassa. The programme also embraces Mozambican
farmers, and is supposed to be run by the Mosagrius Development Corporation (SDM), a joint
venture between the Mozambican State and SACADA. But SACADA has never paid its 50 percent
of the million dollars of SDM's initial capital. Tired of waiting for the money, the
Mozambican authorities have decided to look for more reliable partners. A source in the
Mozambican Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry said that legal procedures have been
completed to remove SACADA from the project, and other partners have been identified, who
are interested in taking its place.
From: SACADA to be Replaced in Mosagrius / AIM / 1 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/01 -
MOZAMBIQUE - ELECTIONS - PARALLEL COUNT
The United States embassy in Maputo denied that there is any American pressure on
Mozambique's National Elections Commission (CNE) to introduce a "parallel count"
in December's general elections. A US embassy source said that a parallel count had
occurred in the Malawian elections, and that the American NGO, the Carter Centre, had
explained this system to the CNE. "There was no US government involvement", the
source said. "No-one has felt any concern about the system that is used here. It's
entirely the CNE's decision". There was also no linkage between the method of
counting the votes, and US financial support for the election campaign. "There's no
question of money", the embassy spokesperson said. This is in line with statements
made by the chairman of the CNE, Jamisse Taimo. "We have not yet received anyone from
the American government telling us that the counting system established under Mozambican
law is not correct", he said. The CNE had held a meeting with members of the Carter
Centre, he added, "but after we explained what the Mozambican law lays down for the
count, they were happy".
From: No pressure for "parallel count" / AIM / 1 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/01 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - HISTORY - MONUMENTS
The mayor of Maputo, Artur Canana, said that the community has an important role to play
in the preservation of monuments and gardens, which are part of Mozambican society's
cultural and historic heritage. He was speaking shortly after the signing of an addendum
to an agreement between the Maputo City Council and the privately-owned Alvorada secondary
school whereby the latter is to maintain the statue of Samora Machel, the first President
of Mozambique, and the surrounding area. Canana noted that the city "is, bit by bit,
having its monuments and gardens taken care of" thanks to initiatives of civil
society organisations, of which the Alvorada school is a noteworthy example. He said that
the document signed is the continuation of an agreement signed in 1997 between the city
Council and Alvorada under which the school has been looking after the statue of Eduardo
Mondlane, the founder and first president of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo).
From: Community's role in preservation of Monuments / AIM / 1 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/02 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - ELECTORAL CAMPAGN - CHISSANO
Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano expressed confidence that he will win the December
presidential election, and that his ruling Frelimo Party will secure over 50 per cent of
the seats in parliament. Addressing a Maputo press conference, Chissano said "what we
must fight for is an increase in the number of our parliamentary seats, and if we reach
two thirds I will not be surprised". A simple majority, of over 50 per cent, was
"more than guaranteed", he claimed. "If we continue to work correctly, it
is not impossible to reach two thirds". Chissano said he was not worried if Renamo
did somewhat better this year in his home province of Gaza than its results in 1994.
"We are not regionalists or tribalists - we are waging a national campaign", he
said. "We want to increase our total number of seats. We are not worried if Renamo
wins a seat or two in Gaza or Maputo. What we want is sufficient representation across the
country". Chissano was speaking the day after he returned from campaigning in the
northern provinces. He told reporters he was confident that Frelimo could reverse the
voting pattern in the two most populous provinces, Nampula and Zambezia, which were won by
Renamo in 1994.
From: Chissano confident of victory / AIM / 2 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/02 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - REFUGEES
Refugees from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo are flowing into Mozambique
fleeing from political instability in the Great Lakes region. The police commander in the
northern province of Niassa, Zacarias Cossa, said that the known number of refugees from
those two countries in Niassa is now 150, but the possibility is that there are many more,
who have not been reported. He said that the police have notified the Mozambican Refugee
Support Nucleus (NAR) which, for its part, reported the case to the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). These two bodies have no representatives in Niassa. The
refugees have been given shelter at an accommodation centre in the provincial capital,
Lichinga, while awaiting a decision on their situation.
From: Great Lakes refugees flow into Mozambique / AIM / 2 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/02 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION - HEALTH
The Matola Municipal Council in southern Mozambique has been offered 237,000 US dollars
worth of medical equipment and medication by the Portuguese municipality of Loures, with
which it is twinned. The equipment, already being distributed in 12 of Matola's health
units, includes scales, compressors, medical masks and gloves, plasters, stethoscopes,
refrigerators and various types of medication. The cooperation between Matola, about 15
kilometres from Maputo, and Loures dates from November 1996, when the two municipalities
signed an inter-municipal protocol encompassing education, culture, economic and
institutional areas, among others.
From: Portuguese Municipality offers Medical Equipment / AIM / 2 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/04 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - ELECTORAL CAMPAGN
Some of Mozambique's minor parties have no time for half measures in their electoral
propaganda, no time for boring statistics about schools and health posts, or for carefully
crafted promises about new tax regimes and special incentives for small businesses. The
Liberal Democratic Party of Mozambique (PADELIMO) has its eyes on much broader vistas. For
its election campaign promises nothing less than to turn Mozambique into paradise.
"If you want to see Mozambique become a paradise on earth, then vote for
PADELIMO", declares the leaflet this party was handing out in central Maputo. The
PADELIMO leaflet also promises that "life pensions" will be the right of all
Mozambicans, and that PADELIMO will "distribute money from oil, gas and other
minerals". The PADELIMO leaflet is a model of conciseness, since it is just 88 words
long. Naturally it contains nothing about targets for economic growth, inflation, monetary
policy, employment - who needs to deal with such mundane matters, if you can promise
paradise?
From: Party Promises Paradise / AIM / 4 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/05 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - ELECTORAL CAMPAGN - DHLAKAMA
For the first time in over a week Afonso Dhlakama, leader of Mozambique's main opposition
party, the former rebel movement Renamo, made a public appearance to deny reports
circulating in Maputo that he is ill. The channel he chose was an interview with
Mozambican Television (TVM), shown early in the evening, and again during the main TV news
at 20.00. The camera mostly showed Dhlakama sitting at a desk in his office. He stood up
and sat down again, which, he claimed, demonstrated that there was nothing wrong with him.
To explain his disappearance from public view, Dhlakama said he had been dealing
personally with the financial crisis affecting the "Electoral Union" of Renamo
and ten minor opposition parties. He said he had been in permanent contact with the Renamo
members who head the lists of parliamentary candidates in each of the 11 provinces, and
had been on the phone to mobilise funds.
From: Dhlakama Denies Reports of Illness / AIM / 5 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/05 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - CULTURE - EXPO 2000
Mozambique is to take part in the world exhibition "Expo 2000", to be held next
year in Germany, and preliminary estimates are that Mozambican participation will cost
about 900,000 US dollars. This figure was given by the Mozambican General Commissioner for
the event, Jacinto Veloso, during a ceremony in Maputo, officially announcing Mozambique's
participation in "Expo-2000". The exhibition will take place from 1 June to 31
October in the city of Hanover, under the theme: "Man, Nature and Technology".
Of the sum Mozambique needs for its participation, the German government, through the
German Cooperation agency in Mozambique (GTZ), has promised to grant about 200,000 German
marks (around 108,000 US dollars). The remainder is to come from the Mozambican State
itself, and from the national and foreign business community. Mozambique will have one
pavilion of its own, under the theme "Environment and Development", but it will
also participate in a joint SADC (Southern African Development Community), on the theme
"Water".
From: Mozambique At "Expo 2000" / AIM / 5 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/08 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - ELECTORAL CAMPAGN - POLITICAL PARTIES
The Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE), the electoral arm of the
Mozambican civil service, published a list of how much money from the state budget each of
the parties and coalitions contesting the December general elections is entitled to
receive. The state has made 6.23 billion meticais (480,000 US dollars) available for this
purpose. The breakdown is as follows (all figures in meticais, to the nearest million):
Presidential election campaign: Frelimo (Joaquim Chissano) - 1.038 billion; Renamo (Afonso
Dhlakama) - 1.038 billion; Subsidy to parties represented in parliament: Frelimo - 1.061
billion; Renamo - 941 million; Democratic Union (UD) - 75 million; Parliamentary election
campaign: Frelimo - 236 million; Renamo-Electoral Union - 236 million; UD - 236 million;
PALMO (Liberal and Democratic Party) - 236 million; PT (Labour Party) - 236 million; SOL
(Social-Liberal Party) - 236 million; UMO (United Mozambican Opposition) - 188 million;
PIMO (Mozambique Independent Party) - 129 million; PANAOC (National Workers and Peasants
Party) - 122 million; PADELIMO (Democratic Liberal Party) - 109 million; PLM (Progressive
Liberal Party) - 88 million; PASOMO (Social Broadening Party) - 27 million Those parties
receiving 236 million meticais for the parliamentary elections are running a full slate of
candidates in all provinces. The other parties and coalitions receive funds in accordance
with the number of valid candidates they are proposing. As can be seen, Frelimo and Renamo
between them absorb more than two thirds of these funds. The total that Frelimo will
receive is 2.335 billion meticais, while Renamo is entitled to 2.215 billion.
From: Funding or Political Parties / AIM / 8 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/09 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION - ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
Mozambique may soon start exporting cooking coal to Nigeria, and importing oil from this
country, said the Mozambique's Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, John Kachamila,
following a meeting between Prime Minister Pascoal Mocumbi and Nigerian Energy and Steel
Minister Chief Bola Ige, that Mozambique has enough reserves to satisfy Nigeria's needs of
about four million tones of coal a year. This is the estimated quantity that Nigeria needs
to develop its booming steel industry. "We have the reserves. There are nearly three
billion tones of coal at Moatize. The problem will be production capacity", said
Kachamila. "At the initial stage, Moatize will produce about 3.5 million tones a
year, thus we will not have the necessary capacity in the beginning, but over time I think
that we can replace any further imports that Nigeria will need".
From: Mozambique to export Coal to Nigeria / AIM / 9 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/10 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - POLITICAL PARTIES - SOCIALIST INTERNATIONAL
Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano, who is also the President of the ruling Frelimo
party, was elected, as deputy chairman of the Socialist International (SI), during the
organization's 21st Congress, in Paris. Speaking to reporters shortly before the official
announcement of Chissano's election, the Frelimo general secretary, Manuel Tome, who is
heading the Frelimo delegation in Paris, said that "the choice of President Chissano
was due to his own merits, since his political vision surpasses the limits of Mozambique
and of Africa, and because of the example of Frelimo's performance within the Socialist
International". "The election of President Joaquim Chissano is a great honor to
Frelimo and also to the country, and brings an added responsibility to Frelimo's
participation in the SI", added Tome. The number of members of the SI, which is now
chaired by the Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, has grown to 150.
From: Chissano Elected SI Deputy Chairman / AIM / 10 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/11 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - HEALTH - AIDS - FEMALE CONDOM
Population Service International (PSI), an NGO working with the Mozambican Health Ministry
on AIDS prevention, launched the female condom, "femidom", in Maputo. The female
version of the male condom, is made of polyurethane (a very fine plastic material,
stronger than latex). It is about 17 centimetres long and has a flexible ring at each
extremity. PSI's quality research assistant Carlota Wate said that this product will be
marketed in Maputo, in an initial stage (three or four months) and, depending on public
acceptance, it will then be sold in other parts of the country. "Femidom" is not
cheap. It will be sold in pharmacies and supermarkets at a price of 60,000 meticais (about
4.5 US dollars) for a pack of three. This price could well discourage potential buyers,
since the statutory minimum industrial wage is only 450,000 meticais a month.
From: Female Condom Launched in Maputo / AIM / 11 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/12 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN - PRESS FREEDOM
Mozambique's main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo, has told the daily
paper "Noticias" not to cover any more of the election campaign activities of
its leader and presidential candidate, Afonso Dhlakama. The director of the Renamo
election office, Manuel Frank, and Dhlakama's election agent, Luis Gouveia, visited the
"Noticias" newsroom to inform the paper that Dhlakama has decided he can do
without its coverage because it is allegedly biased against him, and in favour of the
ruling Frleimo Party. An editorial gives details of Renamo's allegations against
"Noticias". Frank and Gouveia had two specific complaints. First they claimed
that "Noticias" systematically understated the number of people attending
Dhlakama's rallies "Noticias" talked of "hundreds of people" listening
to the Renamo leader, while Renamo itself claims that "thousands and thousands"
were in attendance. The second complaint concerns the clashes between Renamo and Frelimo
supporters in Chokwe, in the southern province of Gaza, on 26 October. Frank and Gouveia
claimed that "Noticias" had blamed Renamo for the disturbances, while other
media blamed Frelimo. "Noticias" replied that "hundreds" rather than
"thousands" was its estimate of the size of Dhlakama's rallies based on the
evidence of its reporters' own eyes. "We saw hundreds of people, where the Renamo
leadership apparently saw several thousand", the editorial remarked. As for the
Chokwe incidents, "Noticias" pointed out that it printed what its reporter saw -
which was that the clashes began when a group of Frelimo supporters tried to block the
passage of Dhlakama's motorcade. By "inviting" the paper to abandon Dhlakama's
campaign, the editorial said, Renamo "is attacking a principle enshrined in the
constitution, which is the right of journalists to enjoy access to sources of
information".
From: Renamo bans daily paper from campaign / AIM / 12 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/12 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - POLITICAL PARTIES - ELECTIONS
Mozambique's ruling Frelimo Party said that it began preparing for the current election
campaign over four years ago - which is why its campaign is well organised and well
funded, while opposition parties complain of lack of money. Frelimo general secretary
Manuel Tome told a Maputo press conference that the party "started preparing this
campaign at a meeting we held in Manica province in March 1995". Then the party
leadership had brought together representatives of Frelimo provincial committees and
election offices from all over the country for four days in which "we discussed our
strengths and our weaknesses in the 1994 campaign and how to use this experience. We
discussed how we should organise ourselves for 1999, how to improve the functioning of our
organisation, and how to generate funds for the campaign". He revealed that since the
Manica meeting, Frelimo no longer pays for a cook in its general secretary's home. The
party reduced the number of phone lines in Frelimo leaders' houses paid for out of party
funds. Similarly with transport. The number of cars used by the leadership was cut, and
the fuel allocation per vehicle reduced from 45 to 35 litres a week.
From: Frelimo campaign prepared years in advance / AIM / 12 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/13 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - INFORMATION - PRESS FREEDOM
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), a regional body concerned with press
freedom and pluralism issues, has written to Afonso Dhlakama, leader of Renamo, to protest
at Renamo's attempt to ban the main daily paper "Noticias" from covering any
more of Dhlakama's election rallies. MISA said that Renamo's "invitation" to
"Noticias" to cease covering Dhlakama's campaign "has far reaching and
disturbing implications for press freedom in Mozambique", and called on Dhlakama
"to reverse this position". It warned that the ban on "Noticias" would
not only "restrict journalists from gaining free access to sources about Renamo, but
also raises the danger of them being exposed to violence and intimidation in the event of
them covering Renamo election activities". MISA also saw the ban "as an attempt
to restrict public scrutiny of your party and statements by its leaders. MISA feels
strongly that, particularly during times of elections, the media should be able to freely
and vigorously report on public statements made by election candidates and political
parties so that such statements can be effectively publicized and publicly
scrutinized".
From: MISA protests at Renamo ban on paper / AIM / 13 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/15 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - INTERNATIONAL COPERATION
The British head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh,
arrived in Maputo for a visit of several hours to the Mozambican capital. The royal couple
arrived from the South African City of Durban, where the Queen had attended the summit of
Commonwealth heads of state and government. On her arrival at Maputo airport, President
Joaquim Chissano, Prime Minister Pascoal Mocumbi and other members of the Mozambican
government greeted the queen. She was granted the military honors due to a head of state,
and then drove straight to Maputo municipal council, where the mayor of the city, Artur
Canana, offered her the keys of the city. The royal visit marks the start of a
"Mozambique-United Kingdom Partnership Week", in which the promotion of British
investment will be the dominant theme. The Queen and President Chissano had jointly opened
a Trade and Investment Exhibition, stressing the importance of the commercial interchange
between the two countries. Direct British private investment in Mozambique amounted to
134.6 million US dollars between 1985 and June of this year, making Britain the third
largest investor in Mozambique, after South Africa and Portugal.
From: British Monarch Visits Mozambique / AIM / 15 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/16 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION - INVESTMENT
Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano said in Maputo, that the visit of Britain's Queen
Elizabeth II to Mozambique "is the culmination of a constant search for a fruitful
relationship between the two peoples". Speaking during a banquet he offered in honor
of the Queen, Chissano said, "Mozambique and the United Kingdom will now walk
together in a new fight for independence, in the economic, social and scientific and
technological domains". These included "attaining prosperity and progress in the
present, without affecting the capacity of future generations to satisfy their needs;
increasing our ability to engage in a more open, participatory and pluralist decision
making process; and allowing all citizens access to basic health services and to
knowledge, inspiring in them the necessary self esteem in order to feel themselves
citizens of the world". Chissano thanked Britain for its aid to the country's balance
of payments and its support for debt relief. "We would like to see this aid
continued", he concluded.
From: Chissano on Queen Elizabeth's visit / AIM / 16 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/16 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - POLITICAL PARTIES - ELECTIONS
The three party coalition UMO (Mozambican Opposition Union) announced that it is backing
Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the former rebel movement Renamo, in the December presidential
election. UMO chairman Wehia Ripua told a Maputo press conference that, although UMO
"is independent of any other political force", its national leadership had
decided, "because we are in the opposition", to support Dhlakama. UMO would
therefore urge the electorate to vote for the UMO lists in the parliamentary election, but
for Dhlakama in the presidential one. This was a remarkable volte-face. In March, after
Dhlakama had publicly mocked UMO, Ripua wrote an angry communique declaring that the
Renamo leader "behaves as if he were someone who has just come out of the
caves". Ripua even predicted that, if Dhlakama were to win an election, "secret
executions will be immediately applied". AIM asked Ripua how he could reconcile these
March statements with a call to vote for Dhlakama? "That was just politics",
replied Ripua. "It's not the Bible or the Koran. Politics is like that".
"In politics there are no permanent enemies", he added. "You can't treat
politics like the Bible". In any case, he continued, Dhlakama would never give orders
on his own as president. "He'll always work in a group", said Ripua. "We'll
give him our advice".
From: UMO reverses its line on Dhlakama / AIM / 16 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/17 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - TOURISM - INVESTMENT
The Mozambican government has cancelled the controversial ecotourism project in the far
south of the country, dreamed up by the late American businessman James Blanchard III.
Blanchard, an eccentric right-wing millionaire from Louisiana, used to fund the apartheid
backed Renamo rebels during the war of destabilization. After the 1994 election, he turned
his attention towards tourism in Mozambique; His proposal was for a vast ecotourism
reserve in the district of Matutuine, which borders on both South Africa and Swaziland. It
would combine unspoiled Indian Ocean beaches, and the wildlife of the interior.
Blanchard's vision included new hotels, golf courses, a floating casino, and even a steam
railway running down the Matutuine coast. The government gave the green light to the
project in November 1996. The initial investment approved, however, was not 800 million,
but just 20 million dollars. Three years later nowhere near this amount has been invested,
and the only visible work is some new fencing round the Maputo elephant reserve, which
Blanchard's representatives costed at three million dollars. Blanchard himself died early
this year, but the government was initially optimistic that his company, Blanchard
Mozambique Enterprises, had not died with him. But there was no sign of any advance. No
sign of any tourist accommodation of any sort, much less floating casinos and steam
railways. So, the Mozambican cabinet cancelled its 1996 resolution approving the Blanchard
project.
From: Government cancels Blanchard project / AIM / 17 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/23 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - TECHNOLOGY - MILLENNIUM BUG
There are no grounds for pessimism about Mozambique's ability to deal with the computer
problem known as the "millennium bug", Prime Minister Pascoal Mocumbi told a
Maputo press briefing. Mocumbi said that the government has kept close watch on moves to
deal with the problem in strategic sectors of the Mozambican economy, and is satisfied
with the progress made. Thus the sensitive computerized systems of the Finance Ministry
and the Ministry of State Administration, which deal with such matters as the wages of
civil servants, are now "Year 2000 compliant". Final contingency plans are being
drawn up, which will be concluded by the end of November. As for the banks, "the
correcting and testing of systems and contingency plans were concluded by the end of
September", said Mocumbi. "They are now monitoring the contingency plans".
Prospects for transition to the new millennium in the telecommunications sector were
"excellent", said the Prime Minister. The picture was much the same in civil
aviation, which was at an advanced stage of designing and testing its contingency plans.
Although some railway equipment was not yet compatible, this did not pose any danger to
the circulation of trains, said Mocumbi.
From: Increasing confidence over "Millennium Bug" / AIM / 23 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/24 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - REGIONAL COOPERATION - ELECTIONS - SADC
Twelve members of the Southern Africa Development Community parliamentary forum (SADC-PF)
are observed the 3 and 4 December Mozambican general elections. The MPs visited five
provinces, namely Maputo and Gaza in the south, Sofala and Zambezia in the centre, and
Nampula in the north. In these provinces they observed voting in a number of polling
stations. The press release says that the MPs represent the widest spectrum of political
groupings in each parliament, "namely from the ruling parties, the opposition and
women in parliaments". The exercise is part of a SADC "mandate of enhancing and
strengthening the new wave of constitutional democracy in the SADC region".
"Free and fair elections are crucial to this process. The monitoring of elections by
neighbours may not only contribute to transparency in the electoral system but it could
also build confidence and legitimacy in the utilization of elections as a means of
choosing leaders", the release said. The SADC-PF is based in the Namibian capital,
Windhoek.
From: SADC Forum to observe Mozambican Elections / AIM / 24 November 1999
ITEM NO. 99/11/29 - MZ
MOZAMBIQUE - POLITICAL PARTIES - ELECTIONS
Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano pledged that his ruling Frelimo Party will accept
the results of second general elections whatever they may be -but reaffirmed his
conviction that Frelimo is on course for victory. Speaking at a Maputo press conference,
Chissano criticized spokesmen of the main opposition party, Renamo, for their readiness to
shout "fraud" even before the polls have opened. "Statements that ''if
Frelimo wins, there must have been fraud'' are unacceptable", said Chissano.
"It's like a football match where one team says in advance, ''if we lose, it must be
the fault of the referee''". Asked what would happen if he won the presidency, but
Renamo and its coalition allies secured a parliamentary majority, Chissano said that,
under the terms of the constitution, he still forms the government. "It's possible to
have a government with minority support in parliament", he said. "But another
scenario would be negotiation with part of the opposition to achieve a majority".
"What would be unacceptable is a government including both me and parties opposed to
me", stressed Chissano. "A government can only have one programme, not
two". But Chissano thought this hypothesis very remote: he believed Frelimo would
increase its overall parliamentary majority. "Our number of seats will increase
substantially", he predicted. "Where we had fewer votes in 1994, we will have
many more this time. And in some constituencies we will have a huge majority".
From: FRELIMO will accept election results - Chissano / AIM / 29 November 1999