Across Maputo are red flags pierced by harsh sunlight and faded walls are plastered with posters of Frelimo, the party that has been in power in Mozambique for half a century.
In the vibrant capital of the Portuguese-speaking country, the lack of suspense is palpable days ahead of October 9 presidential and parliamentary elections, but it still stirs emotion.
Frelimo will be declared the winner, as it always is, said a 33-year-old selling cell-phone airtime on the street.
“Our elections are never transparent because people vote but the results are manipulated,” said the vendor, who would only give his name as Jorge.
The destitute southern African country with high levels of inequality needs elections to bring changes, said a security guard chatting among other vendors.
At every crossroad, giant billboards display the face of Daniel Chapo, the ruling party’s candidate, in an open-collared white shirt against a red background and the slogan “Forward” and “Get to work!”.
A young woman walks into a modest restaurant in the city centre with a Frelimo flag tied over her jeans. “They give us money to wear them,” she said.
The amount is the equivalent of four euros, enough to eat for a day or two if you are careful.
Frelimo, the former Marxist rebel movement whose Soviet-style logo features an ear of corn and a drum, monopolises the space, crowding out its opponents from the Renamo, Podemos and MDM parties.
Police officers, some in bullet-proof vests and khaki uniforms, criss-cross the centre where Karl Marx Avenue, parallel to Vladimir Lenin Avenue a little further on, joins Mao Tse Tung Avenue.
In the Janet market, a loudspeaker bursts out from among a group of about 20 young activists from a small, independent party, all dressed in white.
Can Frelimo — in power since independence from Portugal in 1975 — ever be dethroned? “I do not know, a lot of parties want to win,” said the eldest of the group, Carlos Mahisso, 47.
“If we win seats in parliament, we will at least be able to discuss the regulations in Mozambique,” he said hopefully.
Published – October 07, 2024 07:36 am IST
