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Mozambique Page |
Welcome to ElectionInfo.com's pages on Mozambique
Official Name: Republic of Mozambique
Capital: Maputo
Area: 801,590 square kilometres (309,496 square miles)
Major cities (Population)
Maputo 1,098,000 (1991 estimate)
Beira 299,300 (1990 estimate)
Nampula 202,600 (1990 estimate)
Population: 16,004,000 (1995 estimate)
Population growth rate: 2.4 per cent (1990-1995 average)
Type of government: Republic
Independence: 25 June 1975 (from Portugal)
Constitution: 30 November 1990
Voting Rights: Universal at age 18
Government
Under the independence constitution of 1975, which followed the collapse of the government in Portugal, Mozambique became a single-party republic under the Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (the front for the Liberation of Mozambique)—known as Frelimo—the only legal political party. Formed in 1962, the party initiated Mozambique’s struggle for independence in 1964, claiming allegiance to Marxist ideology. Executive power rested with the president of Frelimo, and the party dominated the People’s Assembly, the unicameral national legislature.
In November 1990, following a period of conflict between Frelimo and its main opposition groups, new constitution providing for a multi-party system took effect and Mozambique’s second political party, the Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (the Mozambique National Resistance)—known as Renamo—won full legal recognition in 1992.
Under the new constitution, legislative power is vested in the directly elected Assembly of the Republic, and executive power is held by the president, who is elected to serve a five-year term.
Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court, which is composed of independent judges appointed by the president.
Recent History
Portuguese rule of Mozambique in the 20th century was autocratic, particularly during the dictatorship of António Salazar. Forced and contract labour and harsh treatment undermined the life of the Africans in Mozambique. Portugal claimed that Africans could achieve equality with whites by assimilation into Portuguese culture, but the system produced few converts. Portugal’s colonization policy, despite special incentives to whites, also failed. Only 65,000 whites were resident in Mozambique in 1965.
Revolt against Portuguese rule began in 1964, when guerrillas of the Frelimo party struck out of Tanzania. The ensuing war was ended when a coup in Portugal in 1974 brought to power a government that withdrew its claims on Mozambique. The country became independent on 25 June 1975. Frelimo, led by Samora Machel, then moved to establish a Marxist state, nationalizing industry and creating agricultural collectives. The exodus of most whites, who formed the technical and professional class, weakened the nation’s economy.
For most of the 1980s, a brutal civil war took place between supporters of Frelimo, backed by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), and those of Renamo, supported mainly by South Africa and the United States. The war eventually caused the health and education systems to collapse and agricultural production virtually to cease. Troops from South Africa, Zambia, and Tanzania were deployed to protect vital areas. By 1990, after an estimated 900,000 people had been killed and another 1.3 million had fled the country, Joaquím Chissano, the leader of Frelimo, announced plans for a multi-party government. A peace treaty formally ending the civil war was signed in October 1992. In December a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force was deployed but was hampered by poor organization and inadequate funding. In August 1993 the UN launched a programme to repatriate up to 1.3 million refugees from Mozambique’s violent and prolonged civil war.
The first multi-party elections in Mozambique were held in October 1994. Chissano was elected president with 53.3 per cent of the vote, and his Frelimo party received a majority in the Assembly with 129 out of 250 seats. Renamo party leader Afonso Dhlakama received 33.7 per cent of the vote, and his party garnered 112 seats in the Assembly. Some 90 per cent of those eligible excercised their right to vote in the election. In early 1995 the UN withdrew its peacekeeping forces after monitoring the country’s transition from civil war to the beginnings of a multi-party republic.
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