Founded in 1975, the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) is the official opposition party in Mozambique. Founded as an anti-communist political organization, the party is led by Afonso Dhlakama who has held the reigns in the party since 1979 after the first party president Andre Matsaingaissa was killed.
The party says attributes itself for the fight for democracy in Mozambique and won the war that lasted 16 years, forcing FRELIMO to negotiate the peace agreement that led to the elimination of the Marxist-Leninist system and its significant forms of repression of the people, particularly the communal villages, re-education camps, shootings, route plans, the fields of the people, the oppression of the press, etc.
The party has over the years seen a massive support base decrease in the elections.
Renamo suffered a big loss in during the 2009 elections as compared to previous campaigns. The party dropped from 117 seats 199 to 90 seats in 2004 and further down to 51 seats in 2009 elections.
The 2009 Provincial Elections shows that Frelimo is in control of all the provinces in Mozambique with over 60% of the votes in each of them.
– By Luvuyo Mdeni
