19 November 2008
Maputo — Mozambican President Armando Guebuza declared on Wednesday that the local elections under way in the country's 43 municipalities are "a strong sign of stability and democracy in the country".
Guebuza was speaking to reporters immediately after he had voted at a polling station in a Maputo secondary school.
He took the opportunity to urge all registered voters living in the municipalities to cast their votes. They should be proud, he added, to exhibit their index finger daubed in the indelible ink used by election staff to ensure that nobody votes twice.
Guebuza appealed for the voting to continue "in an orderly fashion", so that it could be regarded "as a festive occasions for Mozambicans who value what they believe in and who respect differences".
The President of the Supreme Court, Mario Mangaze, who voted in the same school, also encouraged citizens to go to the polling stations, regardless of their political affiliation. "Days like this are rare in the history of our country", he said, "and it is important to participate in choosing those who will govern us".
The Catholic Archbishop of Maputo, Francisco Chimoio, also called for a massive turnout. As for those who had not made up their minds yet, "I urge you to do so, because voting is one of your duties as a citizen and we must do everything we can to collaborate in these elections which should be fair, transparent and orderly".
Fta/pf (250)
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
