Elections in Mozambique

This policy brief analyzes the security and political landscape surrounding Mozambique's fifth democratic presidential election scheduled for October 2014. It focuses on the tensions between the ruling Frelimo party and the opposition Renamo, emphasizing the need for a negotiated ceasefire and disarmament to ensure a peaceful transition and long-term stability.

• The Mozambican Constitutional Council confirmed on 4 August 2014 that only three candidates met the legal requirements for the October 2014 presidential election: Filipe Nyusi of Frelimo, Afonso Dhlakama of Renamo, and Daviz Simango of the Movimento Democrático de Moçambique (MDM).
• Prior to the 2014 elections, Renamo conducted random armed attacks against government forces in the central provinces of Inhambane and Sofala starting in early 2013, citing unfulfilled terms of the 1992 peace agreement.
• The Frelimo government and Renamo have engaged in over 60 rounds of negotiations to determine how to cease hostilities and integrate former Renamo rebels into the community and security forces.
• The author identifies two primary hurdles for the election process: balancing democratic ideals with the interests of an armed former rebel group, and achieving a long-term solution to the political impasse between Frelimo and Renamo.
• Post-election stability is threatened by two specific risks: the possibility that Renamo rebels will not have disarmed satisfactorily by the election date, and the risk that losing parties may take up arms rather than concede defeat.
• To mitigate post-election violence, the document recommends establishing confidence-building measures (CBMs) and security guarantees, suggesting the SADC secretariat could act as a guarantor by managing a percentage of natural resource revenue to support peacebuilding.

APA

Alusala, N. (2014). Elections in Mozambique. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PolBrief67Eng.pdf

Chicago

Alusala, Nelson. Elections in Mozambique. Institute for Security Studies, 2014. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PolBrief67Eng.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Alusala |first1=Nelson |title=Elections in Mozambique |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=September 2014 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PolBrief67Eng.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{alusala2014elections, author = {Alusala, Nelson}, title = {{Elections in Mozambique}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2014}, month = sep, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/PolBrief67Eng.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }