|
Politically tense Mozambique starts voter registration
The process had a chaotic start, with many registration posts opening late or not at all due to technical problems, frustrating those queuing in long lines in Mozambiques cities and towns. Frelimo, the party that has ruled the southern African country since independence, is on track for another landslide victory at next years presidential election, after taking 75 percent of votes in 2009. The rival party, Renamo, which fought a 16-year post-independence civil war with Frelimo, has rejected the registration process as illegitimate, saying the ruling party unfairly dominates the National Election Committee. The entire electoral machinery begins with registration. This committee is unilateral, dominated by members of the Frelimo party and therefore not valid, Renamo spokesman Fernando Mazanga said. Renamo, which has an estimated 1,000 former guerrillas at its disposal, has threatened to disrupt voter registration although there have so far been no reports of trouble. Frelimo, a Marxist-turned-capitalist party that has enjoyed a near-total grip on power since the end of the war in 1992, dismissed the threats as evidence of Renamos lack of preparedness. It is hard to understand how a party like Renamo, which always claimed it was democratic, is now against elections, spokesman Daniel Jose said. Renamo recognises that it is not ready for the elections. But the Mozambican people will not be held hostage to their disorganisation. One of the worlds poorest countries, Mozambique is enjoying an unprecedented economic boom based on a flood of foreign investment into coal mining and off-shore natural gas.
Posted by: Steve White 2013-05-28 |
||
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=369183 |