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Opposition to Contest Mozambican President's Electoral Win

Tom Bowker

   MAPUTO - Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and his Frelimo party won a
   resounding victory in the Oct. 15 elections. While opposition parties
   plan to contest the results, commentators see little chance of them
   being overturned.

   Official tallies show Nyusi winning 73 percent of the presidential
   vote. Frelimo will hold more than two-thirds of the seats in the
   national parliament, and the party has a majority -- and the right to
   nominate the governor -- in all of the country's provinces.

   Adriano Nuvunga of the Maputo-based Center for Democracy and
   Development says the elections were rigged from the outset -- but that
   he was still surprised the opposition was left completely empty-handed.

   "Everyone believed that in a free and fair election, there would have
   been power-sharing at the provincial level," Nuvunga said. "Clearly
   there was ballot-box stuffing in favor of the incumbent, and the
   tabulation part at the polling stations was not transparent in several
   parts. The tally sheets were changed. So, clearly, all these
   contributed to the size of the victory of Frelimo."

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