Opposition wins port city

Mozambique's electoral commission announced this week that the opposition Renamo party had won the port city of Beira, while authorities promised to investigate claims of irregularities during the local elections. Out of the 33 municipalities contested in the 19 November poll, the Beira result had been one of the most controversial. A report from the Mozambique news agency, AIM, said: "More than anywhere else in the country, the provisional count in Beira has suffered from the chronic distrust between the two major political forces: the ruling Frelimo party, and the opposition Renamo-Electoral Union coalition." However, late on Thursday the National Elections Commission (CNE) announced that the main opposition party's mayoral candidate, Deviz Simango, had won with 53 percent of the vote. Renamo also took the municipal assembly with 54 percent of votes cast, to Frelimo's 41 percent. Beira, in the central province of Sofala, is Mozambique's second city. The vote count, which only started last Friday, came to a stop again on Saturday morning, when Renamo said it caught an election official changing results sheets in favour of the ruling Frelimo candidate. Meanwhile, Mozambique TV quoted CNE spokesman Filipe Mandlate as saying the commission would investigate alleged irregularities during the local elections. In its preliminary report on the elections, the European Union Election Observation Mission said: "Both the electoral campaign and the election day took place in a calm atmosphere, free from intimidation, without any serious incidents or irregularities to remark", nonetheless it felt that "some shortcomings in the administration of the elections" needed to be addressed. "In particular, the handling of the voters' lists, the way CNE operates, and complaint and appeals mechanisms." Although official results of the local elections are not due until 4 December, the opposition Renamo Electoral Union (a coalition of 10 parties with the main opposition party, Renamo) are expected to win control of four of the 33 municipalities. Renamo had boycotted the country's first local elections in 1998, alleging that Frelimo was bent on fraud, which had left the ruling party in control of all the municipalities.