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Mozambique elections end: counting already started Attempts to get voting
kits to polling stations today in the water-logged province of Zambezia were
only partially successful. The Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat
(STAE) was able to open 20 stations by airlift but failed to open eight
others when their aircraft, donated by the South African National Defence
Forces (SANDF), ran short of petrol supplies. Jaimisse Taimo, head of
the National Electoral Commission (CNE) explained that a total of 8,003
voters in Zambezia could not exercise their right to vote and that the law
prohibited further extensions. There are 1.4 million voters in Zambezia. Although no trends or
results can be expected for some time, the opposition Renamo Electoral Union
leader, Afonso Dhlakama declared himself the winner half-an-hour after the
polls closed but when pressed by journalists to say whether the vote had been
free and fair, he refused, saying Renamo had information that some ballot
boxes in three provinces had been either tampered with or stuffed during the
extension period. He also alleged that four Renamo officials had been
arrested in northern Mozambique near the Tanzanian border and a further seven
were detained by police in the port city of Beira. Neither charge could be
independently verified. The Beira incident results
from an attack Friday by seven men on an electoral official. Dhlakama said
one of his close lieutenants, Raul Domingos, had spent last night in jail. Taimo said the CNE had
received no official complaints from Renamo about any aspects of the election
but would act on them if they were submitted. He pointed out that security
matters were under the attorney-general's office and not the CNE. Neither Frelimo nor
President Joaquim Chissano had made any comment by the Sunday night close of
the polls, preferring to wait until some trends emerge. Regional, national
and international observers are expected to make their comments tomorrow
(Monday) but unofficial reactions by some observers and monitors indicate
that they think the electoral process was well-handled and, indeed, was free
and fair. The CNE president said
counting began as soon as the extension period concluded and it would be done
in the presence of observers, monitors and representatives of political
parties. "It will be
completely transparent." The electoral law gives
each polling station 48 hours after all polls closed to count and report its
preliminary results to district and provincial commissions who then have five
days to verify these results and report them to the CNE here in Maputo. The final
official results must be announced by 19 December. Given the size of the
country, the number of registered voters (7.1 million) and the difficult
transportation and fragile communications facilities outside the cities where
some 70 percent of the population lives, it will be some time before results
are known, although trends could emerge soon in centers such as Maputo. The
urban areas tend to support Chissano. While Dhlakama's
unverified allegations of harassment and fraud by Frelimo were dismissed by
many, some observers see it as a way to save face should he lose the
presidency as is expected. Frelimo's narrow hold on parliament, however, may
well be weakened. There have been no opinion
polls allowed by law during the 45-day campaign and they would be of limited
use anyway, but everyone has an opinion in Maputo and everyone is an expert. The election pundits are
re-capitulating the country's 1994-99 governance record and still predict a
fairly certain win for Chissano in the presidential race. But the ruling Frelimo is
on less certain grounds in the parliamentary contest. It won only 44 percent
of the popular vote in the first multi-party elections in 1994, edging Renamo
129 to 112 seats in the Assembly of the Republic. The coalition with 10 small
parties could give the Renamo Electoral Union a few more seats. On the other hand,
Frelimo's campaign slogan "For A Better Future", the same as it
used in 1994, has come true for many Mozambicans. Its economy is booming
faster than any other in southern Africa, or the continent for that matter. Dhlakama has made fun of
Frelimo's slogan time and again in his campaign speeches: "People aren't
interested in a better future. They want a better present," he says. But the man who led Renamo
for 16 years of bloody civil war -- supported first by Ian Smith of Rhodesia
and later by apartheid South Africa - has a contradictory record in
parliament. While it is true that the
peace accord he signed with Chissano in 1992 has allowed about 2 million
people to return to their homes and rebuild their villages and that schools
and clinics are multiplying, while four years of rains have contributed to
good harvests, there has been a desultory even disinterested attitude by
Renamo in parliament where it prefers to block legislation rather than
presenting a solid alternative programme to Frelimo. The 1990 constitution,
which Renamo demanded be amended drastically after the last election because
it was "Soviet in style", now lies in legislative limbo. After four
years of hard-work a consensus had emerged which would have held competitions
for a new flag and national anthem and, more importantly, would strip the
presidency of many of its powers in favour of a prime minister and
parliament. In recognition of the new
economic realities, property rights now vested in the state would be opened
to individuals and corporations. Renamo was on board with
this sometimes grueling process when, suddenly in August it changed its mind
in the Assembly of the Republic where Frelimo did not have the necessary
two-thirds majority and needed consensus to amend the constituion, and
scuppered the whole deal by refusing to vote. The pundits say Dhlakama
and his advisors saw the election coming and thought they had a chance to
beat the long-serving Chissano so it was no time to weaken presidential
powers. Now, regardless of who wins what, the constitution process must start
again. Interestingly, there is
little to choose between the two parties ideologically and certainly no
evidence that Renamo has a programme which would counteract the policies of
the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank who, some conomists
say, sets the real economic and social policies in Mozambique. And, if Renamo
were to win it would face the same IMF strictures as Frelimo. There is a question of
style. Chissano is well-known, a suave internationalist and a good
campaigner. This is his last term as president under the 1990 constitution.
He is popular despite rumblings of party and family corruption. Dhlakama, on
the other hand, ran a disorganized campaign, marred by petty violence and
accusations of tribalism. He has traveled little, is not well-educated and
speaks in a rambling and ponderous manner. "But, he says to one
group that he will put people from their region in positions of power and
makes the same promise to those of another region. The man is a tribalist and
plays on the feelings and fears of uneducated people. Could you imagine
someone like Dhlakama representing Mozambique in the corridors of
international power?" asks one former journalist, now heading a national
agency. There is still residual
anxiety that Dhlakama's dramatic announcement that he was already president
could signal a resumption of the political guerilla tactics Renamo usedt used
to reduce public confidence in the Assembly of the Republic. The recent press
conferences and their unsubstantiated allegations carry hints of creating
chaos if the outcome is not to Renamo's liking. But even Frelimo is
convinced Renamo is committed to elections rather than war. Ian Smith and
apartheid are gone. No one wants war again. "This election will
take us further in consolidating and normalizing the system of
democracy," says Obed Baloi, a sociology professor at Eduardo Mondlane
University. And Jafar Gulam Jafar,
Renamo's spokesperson, agrees. After complaining about Frelimo campaign
tactics and the CNE's incompetence, he says: "War, why?" But then, no one knows the outcome of the last three days of voting and that in a democracy is what it is finally all about. (SARDC) |
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[Elections '99 || Sustainable Democracy || SARDC] Mail Editorial for comments and queries. |
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