Mozambican President Guebuza Wins Second Term

Mozambique's President Armando Guebuza has been reelected for a second five-year term, defeating longtime opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama in elections generally termed free and fair by regional and European observers.

Guebuza won a landslide 75 per cent of the vote to Dhlakama’s 16 per cent, while his ruling party Frelimo took 191 of the country’s 250 parliamentary seats.

Dhlakama’s opposition party, Renamo, won 51 parliament seats, losing eight to a splinter faction, the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM).

Frelimo has been in power since Mozambique’s independence from Portugal in 1975.

Although recent years of economic growth have attracted a large volume of foreign investments especially in mining and tourism, Guebuza faces the challenge of creating adequate jobs for Mozambique’s growing youthful population. [ER].