IRIN Focus previewing the election

[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] Just over 7 million registered voters will go to the polls in presidential and parliamentary elections on Friday and Saturday in Mozambique's second general election since the end of a devastating 16-year civil war. Diplomats and political analysts in this southeast African nation of 19 million people have told IRIN that they agree with President Joaquim Chissano he is likely to retain the presidency. But whether his ruling Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Frelimo) will make gains in parliament against the opposition Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (Renamo)led by his wartime rival turned presidential opponent, Afonso Dhlakama, remains to be seen. President optimistic His voice hoarse after weeks of political campaigning, the bearded Chissano told delegates at a trade and investment conference this week that Frelimo, in power since independence from Portugal in 1975, was confident the party would improve on the 129 seats it holds in the country's 250-seat parliament. In the last election in 1994, Renamo took 112 seats with the remainder going to a smaller party. Altogether, there are 20 registered political parties in Mozambique. "We are going to win and in fact could win even more seats in the parliament," Chissano said. During the election campaign, Renamo has complained of biased national television coverage, claiming it favoured Frelimo in news broadcasts. It has also complained that harassment of its officials is endangering the fairness of the elections in parts of the western province of Tete. International observers The former American president, Jimmy Carter, in Mozambique to monitor the polls, called the elections were a crucial step in strengthening democracy in Mozambique. "All of us in the international community hope for smooth peaceful elections that will further consolidate the progress Mozambique has made in its transition from war to peace and to democracy," he said told reporters. Western donors granted US $60 million to help finance the elections. Key issues, economic achievements Broadly, these range from poverty, economic development, and education to health. Diplomats told IRIN they agreed with Carter that one of the central issues is transforming the country's post-war political stability into economic prosperity. Mozambique last year achieved a staggering economic growth of 12 percent, and has kept inflation at around 1 percent. Its exports last year grew 8 percent while imports were just under 3 percent. Chissano, who has been in power for eight years, has won international praise for this achievement. "Despite these impressive figures, the country's people are still very poor. There was a recent study which showed that nearly 60 percent of Mozambicans live on less than US $1 a day," said an economist. Few tangible results Thus the economic boom has had little impact for ordinary people, "and the whole issue of delivery becomes a big issue for the election," he said. "If you look at the capital, Maputo, for example, there is a lot of construction underway, but how is this improving the lives of the average citizen? The roads are in desperate need of repair and each day thousands of people travelling to work in Maputo take their lives into their hands because there is no public transport system. These are the kinds of issues people are looking at." Health system in disarray The economic achievements are also clouded by a health care system in disarray. According to a recent study by the UN Children's' Fund (UNICEF), on average 11 children die every hour in Mozambique of poverty-related causes. The national health system is only able to cater for 15 percent of the population, while in rural areas facilities are virtually non-existent, forcing people to travel long distances to seek help. Low literacy Another issue raised during the election campaign is education. The country's average literacy rate is 44 percent - 57 percent for men, and 39 percent among women. "How are we supposed to build this country if we are not educating our people?" asked a businessman. "At the moment, we import most of our skilled labour. Although there is nothing wrong with this, we have to begin laying the groundwork for ourselves. We have to develop our own pool of skilled labour. That is the only way we can empower ordinary Mozambicans and make them feel part of this miracle." Chissano pledged that by the year 2007, Mozambique would have free primary education for all children. Renamo Renamo has taken advantage of some of these issues by campaigning hard the most populated central provinces, especially in the Frelimo stronghold of Gaza Province, where it has criticised the government's failure to ease poverty. Its chances have also looked better after it formed an alliance with 10 smaller parties under the Renamo Electoral Union. Joao Alexandre, Renamo's secretary general, was quoted in recent media reports as saying: "A government that is formed by Renamo and its partners will be transparent, competent, open and accountable to parliament and the Mozambican people."