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Frelimo hope to maintain their rule in Mozambique

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Founded in 1962 the Mozambique Liberation Front’s (Frelimo) first leader was Eduardo Mondlane who was assassinated in 1969. He was then succeeded by Samora Machel until the the anti-colonial struggle came to an end in 1974, when a coup in Portugal brought to power a government determined to free its colonies.

Portugal handed over the reigns of government to Frelimo in 1975.

Samora Machel and he announced the idea of one party state with an assembly of 216 people elected by the Frelimo council.
Frelimo lost control of most parts of the country when Renamo started attacks in 1980s. Attacks were fuelled by the fact that Frelimo provided a hiding for the African National Congress (ANC) exiles, running away from the apartheid government.

This later resulted in a violent civil war in the country, causing more than a million refugees to flee the country – until in the late 1980s. It was through the efforts of the Frelimo leadership that peace was brought to calm through the ending of Mozambique’s rigid system of one-party rule.

The two parties went into negotiations facilitated by United Nations (UN) an agreement was reached in 1992, with an agreement plan to hold the democratic elections and Renamo contesting as a political party.

Elections were held in 1994, Frelimo wons the first democratic elections in the new Mozambique, Joacquim Chissano became the country’s first democratic president.

Frelimo won the presidential elections with 53% of the votes, as opposed to 34% for Afonso Dhlakama, of Renamo.

In parliament Frelimo has 129 seats to Renamo’s 112. Frelimo continued to dominate the previous four democratic elections from 1994 elections to 2009.

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