Maputo — The first day of the official election campaign, ahead of Mozambique's municipal elections scheduled for 11 October, passed off peacefully, with few reports of any violent incidents.
The only parties standing candidates in all 65 municipalities - the ruling Frelimo Party and the two main opposition forces, Renamo and the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) - made promises of a better life for the municipal citizens, if they were elected or re-elected.
In the largest municipality, Maputo city, the Frelimo mayoral candidate, Razaque Manhique, promised to work in order to solve problems of transport, organize the informal market and develop the public infrastructures.
"All our government action must be centred on the wishes and solutions that our citizens are looking for. Governing Maputo for Maputo means that we won't take decisions without the support of our citizens', said Manhique.
He promised to restructure the Maputo transport system, and to install a new landfill, to deal with the city's solid waste.
His main rival, the Renamo mayoral candidate Venancio Mondlane, promised the building of health centres in the city's markets. He talked with sellers in some of the markets promising that, if elected, a Renamo city council would be in dialogue with them, instead of repressing them. He promised to introduce an "informal vendor's card'.
In the central city of Beira, MDM leader Lutero Simango accused Frelimo of wanting to return to power in Beira "solely to promote theft, bad governance and corruption'.
Beira has been run by the opposition since 2003 - first by Renamo, and then by the MDM. The MDM founder, Daviz Simango, Lutero's brother, was mayor of Beira from 2003 until his death in February 2021.
Frelimo has made no secret of wanting to dethrone the MDM in Beira - a desire shared by Renamo, whose leader, Ossufo Momade, according to a report in Wednesday's issue of the independent newssheet "Mediafax', accused the MDM of misruling the city.
Momade called on the Beira electorate to vote for the Renamo mayoral candidate, Geraldo de Carvalho, and return to the good governance of Daviz Simango in his first term of office when he was elected on the Renamo ticket.
This was more than a little disingenuous since at this time, Simango was already at odds with the then Renamo leader, Afonso Dhlakama, and planning to set up his own party.
For Frelimo, the party's General Secretary, Roque Silva, denounced the MDM's record of governing the city, and called on the voters "to return dignity to the people of Beira' by voting for Frelimo and its mayoral candidate, Stella Pinto Zeca.
Lutero Simango poured scorn on the idea that Beira had somehow lost dignity under MDM rule. "Mozambique cannot continue to be governed on the basis of corruption', he declared. "Mozambique cannot continue to be governed on the basis of theft. Mozambique cannot continue to be governed on the basis of lies'.
On Tuesday, President Filipe Nyusi relieved Stella Zeca of her duties as Secretary of State for Sofala province, allowing her to concentrate full time on the election campaign. The opposition had claimed that her job as Secretary of State was incompatible with being a mayoral candidate.
In the central city of Quelimane, the current mayor, Manuel de Araujo of Renamo, who is standing for a further term of office, promised to improve the city's roads, and build new drainage channels and a water treatment centre.
Frelimo denounced Araujo for his alleged misgovernance of Quelimane - he has become notorious for spending much of his time outside the city.
The head of the Frelimo brigade supporting the campaign in Quelimane, Filipe Paunde, declared "Our city is full of garbage and of potholes. Nobody knows if the potholes are in the streets, or the streets are in the potholes'.
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"The municipal citizens suffer from this because of the extra costs of repairing their vehicles', said Paunde. "This happens because of the mismanagement of the municipality. This has to stop'.
The MDM mayoral candidate in Quelimane, Bruno Dramusse, promised that, if he is elected, the party's leader, Lutero Simango, will mobilise finance to support the MDM's projects for the city.
The northern city of Nampula was one of the few places where clashes were reported on the first day of the campaign. According to the independent television station STV, eight people were treated in Nampula Central Hospital for minor injuries after scuffles between Frelimo and Renamo supporters.
The two groups clashed when they tried to flypost their propaganda in the same part of the city.
