Mozambique: Provisional results indicate overwhelming victory for ruling Frelimo party

Mozambique's Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE) on Thursday night issued a set of provisional results from the general elections held on Wednesday, confirming the overwhelming victory for the ruling Frelimo Party.

The public in the country has also learnt of the results through the reports broadcast by Radio Mozambique from the polling stations.

STAE officials in the provinces have simply been phoning in the polling station results sheets, as they become available, to STAE headquarters in Maputo. The picture they paint across the country is one of a huge triumph for Frelimo, and a crushing defeat for the main opposition party, Renamo.

According to the state media AIM, the central province of Sofala, once regarded as an impregnable Renamo stronghold, now looks set to fall to Frelimo. But perhaps even more humiliating for Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama is that he is not even in second position in Sofala. He is trailing Daviz Simango, mayor of Beira, and leader of the breakaway Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM).

In the four southern provinces, all of which are Frelimo strongholds, Dhlakama lies in a bad third, easily beaten by Simango. In Maputo city, the MDM is taking almost a fifth of the votes in the parliamentary election, which should translate into two or three seats.

In Inhambane, Guebuza is also topping 85 percent. This is one of the four provinces where the MDM was on the ballot paper, and it has probably done well enough to win a parliamentary seat.

STAE has not yet provided any provisional results from the 11th province, Niassa, in the far north. All these results are subject to eventual confirmation by the National Elections Commission (CNE).

Source: Xinhua