Mozambique is due to hold elections on October 9. But the campaigns, which officially opened this week for the race to replace President Filipe Nyusi, are turning into a contest of whose words promise a better future.

At least 37 political parties and associative movements are contesting for seats, but only four candidates have come forth to contest for the presidency.

More than 17 million voters are registered to vote in the October 9 general election, including more than 300,000 people registered abroad.

Daniel Chapo is running for the ruling Frelimo party, which is essentially backed by the government machinery.

Ossufo Momade is the main opposition Renamo’s candidate, Lutero Simango represents the MDM and Venâncio Mondlane is running as an independent candidate.

Read: Momade elected as Mozambique’s opposition leader ahead of polls

The country has held elections on time over the last 20 years, a departure from its turbulent history. Civil war and, more recently, an insurgency in the north have meant it has been running while looking over its shoulder.

As a result, voters are listening closely to what the candidates say in their speeches, promises or manifestos in a country that has also recently suffered climate-related disasters. 

One thing is certain; Mozambicans will elect a president who will take over a country that has been plagued by terrorism since 2017.

Some 4,000 people have been killed by the group, which calls itself Al Shabaab but has no links to its namesake in Somalia. Another 946,000 have been displaced, according to official estimates.

There is some good news. Outgoing President Nyusi, who signed into law the electoral legislation revised by Parliament last week, told the country that it was the first time in three decades that Mozambicans would witness an election without an armed party.

Describing it as “the fruit of the peace and reconciliation” that they had built together as brothers, he made it clear that the country wanted the election campaign to motivate all voters to go to the polls in good conscience for the candidate and party of their choice.

The new election law stipulates that polling station officials who falsify election results will face a maximum penalty of a two years in prison. The law also states that the district courts will no longer have the power to order vote recounts. This power now lies exclusively with the National Electoral Commission (CNE) and the Constitutional Council.

It also allows the presence of journalists and observers at all stages of the vote count, without any prohibition, which was not the case before.        

Read: Maturing democracy, new dawn of leaders’ introspection

Daniel Francisco Chapo, 47, made it clear that his party wants to continue governing the country and pledged to fight corruption by ‘digitalising state services’ if he wins the presidential election on October 9.

“We need to educate society in honesty. This will ensure that we don't have corrupt people. Society needs ethical and moral values,” Mr Chapo told STV in an interview last week. 

The country has been marred in recent years by corruption scandals. It ranked 145th out of 180 countries surveyed in Transparency International's 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index. It was ranked 146 in 2019, 149 in 2020, 147 in 2021 and 142 in 2022.

Frelimo, or Mozambique Liberation Front, in English, has ruled the country since it gained independence from Portugal in 1975.

Frelimo presidential candidate Daniel Francisco Chapo waving at supporters in Caia, Mozambique during an election campaign on August 27, 2024. PHOTO | X via Daniel Chapo (@daniel_chapo24)

Mr Chapo, so far, has visited Angola, Tanzania, Rwanda and Zimbabwe in a clear sign that he is seeking support and allies. He may already be building networks in case he wins.

In January, however, the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies said that the 2024 presidential and legislative elections would be defined by the Frelimo’s growing sense of entitlement and impunity.

According to analysts in Mozambique, Mr Chapo and Venâncio Mondlane are the most prominent candidates so far, and a fierce battle is expected between them. The duo are also the youngest presidential aspirants.

Mr Chapo has never held a top government post. He has served in the provinces.

Born in Sofala Province, he began his professional career as a journalist at Rádio e Televisão Miramar in Beira and has held government positions at district and provincial level.

“For 50 years, Mozambicans have been clamouring for roads, decent transport, drinking water, national health systems and quality education,” Renamo’s General Secretary Celestina Bomba said at the launch of the campaign, adding that they would fight against corruption and improve social conditions.

Renamo, or the Mozambican National Resistance, justifies the absence of its leader, Ossufo Momade, from the campaign as part of a strategy aimed at energising its purpose.

Read: Voters in many countries sceptical of democracy, poll shows

Mr Momade, 63, who has led Renamo since January 2019 following the death of its founder Afonso Dhlakama, rejected the results of the October 2019 presidential election and demanded fresh polls supervised by reputable entities. His calls fell on deaf ears.

Renamo presidential candidate Ossufo Momade waves at supporters in Tsangano, Mozambique on August 18, 2024. PHOTO | X via Ossufo Momade (@Ossufo_MomadeRN)

Whether it's a coincidence or not, the European Union (EU) has confirmed that it will send its largest ever mission to Mozambique to observe the electoral process.

According to the EU Ambassador to the country, Antonino Maggiore, the bloc will send a mission of 130 observers who are due to arrive this week.

Lutero Simango, the candidate of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), has promised better education and health for Mozambicans.

Despite its natural wealth, Mozambique remains one of the poorest countries in the world, according to USAid, with life expectancy at 61 years due to HIV/Aids and other diseases. 

‘We will produce basic medicines here in Mozambique,’ Mr Simango, 64, vowed, criticising the current government for importing all drugs.

In 2019, MDM secured just over four percent of the vote and came out third.

Venâncio Mondlane, who made a name for himself as a commentator on television and radio programmes, launched his election campaign in Matola, Maputo Province, saying that if elected, he would put an end to the wave of kidnappings and terrorism.

According to Mr Mondlane, 50, both kidnappings and terrorism are evils that result from the poor governance by the ruling Frelimo party.