20 November 2008
Maputo — Early results from the municipal elections in the central Mozambican city of Beira indicate that the current mayor, Daviz Simango, is heading for a personal triumph, beating the candidates both of the ruling Frelimo Party, and of the party which threw him out in September, Renamo.
But the early results also indicate that Simango will have to deal with a Frelimo majority in the Beira municipal assembly.
The results from 41 Beira polling stations (out of a total of 260), broadcast by Radio Mozambique, give Simango a comfortable lead over Frelimo candidate, Lourenco Bulha. They also showed that the Beira electorate wanted nothing to do with the official Renamo candidate, Manuel Pereira, who has suffered a humiliating defeat.
The mayoral results from these 41 stations were:
Daviz Simango (Independent): 11,846 Lourenco Bulha (Frelimo): 7,016 Manuel Pereira (Renamo) 301 Antonio Romao (PDD) 164 Filipe Alfredo (Independent) 45
The results in the elections for the municipal assembly showed a surprisingly strong showing from the independent Group for Democracy in Beira (GDB), which looks set to become the third force in the Assembly, easily beating the PDD (Party for Peace, Democracy and Development).
For the same 41 stations, the results for the municipal assembly election were:
Frelimo: 5,611 Renamo 3,708 GDB 1,420 PDD 234
The crushing defeat of Pereira, and Renamo's likely loss of its majority in the Beira assembly, are bound to call into question the continued leadership of the party by Afonso Dhlakama.
It was Dhlakama who, at the last minute, removed Simango as the Renamo candidate for mayor, and replaced him by Pereira, arguing that Pereira was the man demanded by the Renamo grass roots in Beira.
Those grass roots have now given their verdict, and in any democratic party it should result in sweeping leadership changes. Dhlakama, the Renamo Sofala delegate Fernando Mbararano, and its Beira city delegate, Faque Inacio, have demonstrated that they were completely isolated from the mass of Renamo members and supporters in Beira, who remained overwhelmingly loyal to Simango.
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