Elections in Mozambique: The Prospective of a Young Democracy In

This is not an official NIMD-publication. This article is part of a journalistic training programme offered by Lokaal Mondiaal:
Beyond Your World. Beyond Your world is sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission.
Author: Chris Frieswijk
Elections in Mozambique: The Prospective of a Young Democracy
In October this year general elections will be held in Mozambique. A moment of tension and
excitement, as well as of perspective and possibilities. Interestingly, there are several
developments coming together during the elections: a third political party in the political arena, a
relapse into violent guerilla attacks in certain areas of the country, and an increasingly informed
population of young Mozambicans who could potentially dissolve the existing political paralysis.
A long way since independence
In 1975 the Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo) fought off the Portuguese rulers and liberated
the country after centuries of colonization. Frelimo implemented a socialist government, which led to
resistance by the Mozambican National Resistance Movement (Renamo). The independence was
followed by two decades of brutal civil war, which ended quite suddenly with the signing of the
peace agreement in 1992. The absence of a violent aftermath after the signing of the peace
agreement gave way for development and perspective on the future. However, the country was left
in bankruptcy, hunger and poverty but the recovery is remarkable.
Political landscape
Mozambique has over fifty political parties. However, most of them only show vital signs in the
period before elections. Renamo and Frelimo remain the two main parties with Frelimo having the
vast majority in parliament. In recent years Renamo has made use of violence in certain areas of the
country, contesting the legitimacy of Frelimo’s majority .
The political paralysis in the country changed in 2009 with the arrival of a new party: the
Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM). MDM, formed by a split-off from Renamo, presented
itself as a new force and quickly gained ground amongst the country’s population. They currently
hold 12 seats in Parliament, next to Frelimo and Renamo. MDM intends to break the political
deadlock and give a voice to young Mozambicans. It has also distanced itself from recent conflicts.
Leaders of tomorrow
The three parliamentary political parties have active youth leagues. Considering the fact that more
than half of the country’s population consists of youth, their perspective on the future holds great
relevance for the direction in which the country is heading. Representatives of each youth league
have their own ideas about the role that their party should play in promoting the emergence of a
solid multiparty democracy.
No single-party system
Ivone Soares is the president of the
Renamo youth league. She explains that
her youth league is all about fighting for
political and ideological freedom, and
reducing the tendency towards a singleparty system. As a consequence, the
league encourages the voice of new
parties, and considers the rise of, for
instance, MDM, as something to be
proud of. But “the ghost of the single
party system is still here”, she says. Her
Ivone Soares, President of the Renamo youth league
perspective on the future is nevertheless
very positive. She believes that the new, demanding and informed generation will make a difference.
But only if the media can cover developments in the country without any bias.
Dialogue
Sande Carmona is president of the MDM
youth league, situated in Beira. In
Carmona’s opinion, the dialogue between
parties is of major importance, especially
in the rural areas. Carmona pleas for a
serious debate on the country’s problems,
and feels that the current debate has an
undertone of ridicule towards others. As a
fairly young political party, MDM is the
only party lacking armed forces, and using
their “fresh mind and intelligence to make
Sande Carmona, President of the MDM youth league
their voice heard”, he says. The MDM
youth league promotes transparency and openness of the government towards the people, for they
believe this is currently not the case.
Joint goals
Like the MDM youth league, the young Frelimo supporters also believe that dialogue is important.
Dalepa Stanley Luis Dalepa is a member of the Frelimo Youth League. In his opinion there already is a
solid platform on which dialogue between the parties is possible. He feels that the differences
between the political parties are minimal. After all, health, education and economy are important
topics to all parties. He calls upon all the parties to join forces to lift Mozambique up to a higher level.
A Story of Pride
The country coordinator of the
Netherlands Institute for Multiparty
Democracy (NIMD), Hermenegildo
Mulhovo, sees the appearance of MDM
as a new political force as a good
development for a more balanced
multiparty democracy. But he also sees
the obstacles. In reality Frelimo still holds
two thirds of the seats in parliament, and
thereby the majority of the power. At the
Hermenegildo Mulhovo, NIMD Country Coordinator
same time there is still rancor between
leaders formerly fighting each other, who
are now sitting at the same table. Leveled dialogue seems hard to achieve, even though the
representatives of the youth leagues aim to promote this. It appears that those feelings of
resentment, of which the recent violent incidents are an expression form a serious obstacle in
realizing the cooperation that the youth leagues would like to see.
As Mulhovo puts it: “The seniors appear to be stuck in past conflict and are blocking new initiatives.”
In effect, pride, power and ideology make it difficult for the current government to step back,
therefore the other parties feel discriminated against. The youth leagues are not functioning
properly. They should fuel the parties with fresh, young ideas, but are not given this chance due to
the presence of an undercurrent in which former conflicts still exist.
Mozambican Youth Parliament
Politically active youngsters have the
feeling they are not taken seriously by
the ruling older generation. On the one
hand the cause lies in the above
mentioned trauma of war and conflict,
but on the other hand the traditional
conception that youth should wait for
their turn is still commonly accepted.
To counter this, the Youth Parliament
in Maputo aims to put pressure on the
The Youth Parliament
government to acknowledge the
importance of their voice. As Quitéria Quirengane, spokesperson of the Youth Parliament, sees it,
these conservative divisions between young and old should belong to the past.
The Youth Parliament has published the Manifesto of Youth, a written document with the points
upon which they believe action should be taken, as well as the rights that the Youth Parliament
should be allowed to exercise. The members all have different political backgrounds and preferences,
but this is, interestingly enough, not of importance. The Parliament deals with issues that are
important to all young people, Quirengane says, as ”young people are denied effective participation
on a national level.”
Increasing influence
The influence of the youth in African countries seems to be increasing though. Mulhovo recently
returned from monitoring the South-African elections, and was surprised to see newcomer EFF, a
breakaway youth league coming from a more conservative party, win 23 seats in parliament. As
Mulhovo sees it, this is a trend in southern Africa. Perhaps there lies a similar role for the Youth
Parliament in the future of Mozambique.
In a young democracy it is often the younger generation that is most willing and motivated to
change. The upcoming elections could therefore be a perfect time to open up a pathway for change
in Mozambique, especially with a non-violent competitor as MDM on the rise. Beneath the surface,
however, the ways of the elderly hold steady ground, thereby failing to acknowledge the pace in
which the country’s majority is willing to move away from violence and towards prosperity. As
Mulhovo puts it “democracy depends on learning how to tolerate each other.” One can only hope
for fair and transparent elections, and for the pen to prove itself mightier than the sword.

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