Maputo — PRESIDENT Mugabe arrived here yesterday to join other regional leaders for the inauguration of Cde Armando Guebuza, who is scheduled to be sworn-in for his second and final term as Mozambican president today.

The Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces was seen off at the Harare International Airport by Acting President Joice Mujuru, Vice President John Landa Nkomo, Media, Infor-mation and Publicity Minister Webster Shamu and service chiefs, among others.

The President, who is accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and senior Government officials, was met at Maputo International Airport by Zimbabwe's Amba-ssador to Mozambique Cde Agrippa Mutambara, embassy officials and senior Mozambique government officials.

The swearing-in ceremony follows the validation of the results of the October 28, 2009 presidential and legislative elections by the Mozambi-can Constitutional Court.

Cde Guebuza and his Front for the Liberation of Mozambique party won a resounding mandate.

The court's ruling on December 28 came after the opposition Renamo disputed the results announced by the National Elections Commission last November. In its ruling, the court said the results announced by the elections commission were valid as the irregularities cited by the opposition had little impact on the polls outcome.

Mozambique's Constitutional Court has the final say on electoral disputes.

President Guebuza is expected to name his cabinet soon after taking the oath of office. Most members of the 250-seat parliament took their oath of office on Tuesday as the main opposition Renamo party led by former rebel leader Mr Afonso Dhlakama threatened that its 51 deputies would not take up their seats in the national assembly until their grievances were addressed.

However, 16 of the 51 Renamo Members of Parliament defied their party leader by turning up for the swearing-in ceremony.

The 812 members of 10 provincial assemblies were sworn in on January 5.

President Guebuza swept to victory with 75 percent of the valid votes cast, while Mr Dhlakama got 16 percent. The third presidential candidate, Mr Daviz Simango of the Mozambique Democratic Movement, came a distant third with 9 percent of the votes.

In the national assembly polls, Frelimo got 191 out of a total of 250 seats, a significant gain from the 160 seats the ruling party secured in the 2004 polls. Renamo lost ground after managing to get only 51 seats, down from 90 it garnered in the previous elections while MDM won eight seats.

If Renamo insists on boycotting parliament, the newly-formed MDM will become the official opposition although the latter does not have enough seats to have an official party group or "bench" (bancada) in the assembly which requires a minimum of 11 seats.

This is not the first time that Renamo has threatened to boycott parliament as the party went the same route in 2004 before eventually agreeing to take up its seats in the national assembly.