Mozambique largely peaceful after long polling day

The voting was largely reported to have been calm and peaceful. By midday on Wednesday EU election observers were reporting that polling stations had opened on time and they had witnessed no irregularities.

But during the day reports of minor incidents of violence trickled in. In Mozambique's northern province of Tete, polling authorities reported that RENAMO supporters had burnt some ballot boxes and polling officials had fled. The voting had started at 7:00 a.m., but when RENAMO delegates arrived, they demanded that the polling process should start again in their presence. As a result, around 2,900 people were unable to vote. The information was later confirmed by an independent anti-corruption group, the Center for Public Integrity (CIP).

DW correspondent Antonio Cascais was in Mozambique's capital Maputo and while he noted that while voters were generally in high spirits, he had also met citizens who were unable to cast their vote. "One woman said she couldn't vote because her name was not on the list, although she had registered herself and this was not a unique case," he reported.

Important elections for Mozambique

For Alex Vines, a political analyst with Chatham House, UK, this is the most important election the country has seen in 20 years. FRELIMO, the party that has ruled Mozambique for 39 years, is facing a strong opposition from its traditional rival RENAMO and the political newcomer Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM)for the first time . According to Vines, the chances for an actual shift in power are slim, but the country could see the emergence of a new political landscape. "How big will FRELIMO's majority be and how many seats will the opposition parties win." That is the question, said Vines. And moreover, whatever the outcome, will the parties respect results or will longstanding animosities once again flare up?

The rivalry between the governing FRELIMO party and the former rebel group RENAMO goes back to the 1970s, when the two factions waged a brutal civil war. A peace deal was forged in 1993 and RENAMO became the main opposition party. In late 2012, RENAMO leader Afonso Dhlakama went into hiding, claiming that he was prepared to overthrow the government. Shortly before the elections, Dhlakama reemerged as RENAMO's presidential candidate.

Political change ahead?

On Wednesday morning, both Dhlakama and FRELIMO's candidate Filipe Nyusi cast their votes at a secondary school in Maputo. "As you know election results in Africa are never entirely fair," Dhlakama told reporters at the polling station. "I hope that for the first time in Mozambique, the elections will be acceptable and trustworthy." His rival, Nyusi, on the other hand told the press that Mozambicans would vote for the candidate of their choice and that he was quite certain of a victory.

Cascais says that many Mozambicans want a political change. During the last elections, five years ago, people were not willing to speak openly to journalists. Now people are openly saying that they want better lives and that they no longer want one party to control the entire country.