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Mozambique seems set to become two-party state In the parliamentary
voting, Frelimo has 356,465 to Renamo's 193, 357. It must be stressed that
the results are partial and unofficial but if the trend continues, Chissano
should win the presidency and the Frelimo the parliament. The only unusual
factor is a stronger showing in Frelimo's southern stronghold for Renamo and
a somewhat weaker showing by Renamo in Nampula and Tete provinces in the
central provinces where it is usually strongest. Little information is
available yet from other provinces. These results were
compiled early evening today (Tuesday). There is almost likelihood that
either party will receive the two-thirds majority needed to amend the
constitution. As Mozambicans went to the
polls last weekend, the presidential ballots only the names, pictures and
symbols of the two contestants. The parliamentary ballot, however, was
another matter. In addition to the major parties, voters could choose from
eight other parties and two other coalitions, only one of which, the
Democratic Union (UD), had won any seats in the 250-member Assembly of the
Republic. It had nine which combined with Renamo's 112, gave the opposition
121 votes to Frelimo's 129. Parliament was diminished
in many peoples' eyes by the constant wrangling and boycotts of the
opposition as Frelimo was thwarted in passing development legislation and
amendments to the 1990 constitution. As unofficial results of
the three-day presidential and parliamentary election - voting was extended
by one day due to bad weather in Zambezia province -- begin to arrive clear
trends were still hard to establish. However, comparisons with the results of
the first multi-party elections in 1994 seem to indicate that many voters are
opting for either one of the two main parties, leaving the smaller opposition
parties too far out of contention to make a difference. By law, a party must gain
at least five percent of the national vote to be included in the allocation
of seats using Proportional Representation (PR) List system. Parties must be
registered nationally and their list must have at least three more candidates
than there are seats. This was not a requirement in 1994 which is why 10
small parties joined Renamo in a coalition and forced the former rebel
movement to rearrange its list priority, causing some internal dissension. What is interesting voting
analysts in the parliamentary results is the extremely small number of votes
cast for any party other than Frelimo and Renamo. "This could well
mean, if the trend continues, that Parliament will become a two-party system
with Frelimo and Renamo forced to negotiate their differences. This will be
difficult because the animosity between the leaders and the parties is
deep," a voting analyst said today. Meanwhile regional and
international observers and monitors were huddled with the National Electoral
Commission (CNE) most of day as their field staff came into the capital for
debriefing. Yesterday the voting process was given high praise by most observers
and only technical suggestions are expected to be presented. Renamo, which held packed
press conferences daily during the voting, has shut down its media meetings
the last two days after having made allegations of harassment and
intimidation against Frelimo which, however, have not been presented to the
CNE for action. Frelimo issued a statement
last night (Monday) in which it denied Renamo's accusations and "saluted
the work of CNE and the people of Mozambique who made this a competent
manifestation of the democratic will of the people of Mozambique." The statement expressed
concern at Renamo's allegations of fraud during the third day of voting
saying "it was an attempt to destabilize the vote-counting by spreading
false rumours." Frelimo countered by
saying that "if anyone committed fraud it was Renamo through its
attempts to vandalize election centers and disrupt voting." The statement called on
all Mozambicans and electoral officials to be vigilant in the next stages of
vote-counting. Tomorrow (Wednesday)
concludes the initial 48 hours given polling stations to complete their
counting and post the results on the outside of the station. Each station
acts independently and each party is allowed to have an observer during the
entire process. The results are then transmitted by various means to district
and provincial commissions where they are verified. The CNE expects some partial official results by the weekend. (SARDC) |
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[Elections '99 || Sustainable Democracy || SARDC] Mail Editorial for comments and queries. |
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