Voter registration began Friday with crowds in some rural areas but few people in cities, our team of more than 400 correspondents reported yesterday. This was expected. Last year there was registration in the districts containing the 65 municipalities where there were votes on 11 October. But two thirds of Mozambicans in more rural areas can only register this year.

There were widespread problems with the opening of registration in many places, and many registration posts showed the same problems and misconduct reported last year in registration for municipal elections. In Zambézia two district administrators had trouble registering.

The ongoing rainy season caused disruptions in some places, and the war in causing delays in Cabo Delgado.

However in many places, registration is running smoothly. In rural zones, for example, in the Canxixe EPC in Marínguè, Sofala, there were many voters in the queues in the early hours of Friday morning. Ile, Zambézia, also saw crowds in the early morning. In Espungabera, Manica, at the Teresa Amuli Secondary School, by 14.00 50 voters had been registered. The same scenario was noted in Zambézia, Nampula and Niassa.

As expected, registration posts in urban districts, where most people are already registered, recorded low turnouts, and at some not a single voter appeared, notably in Maputo City. Below, we describe the scenario province by province.