Mozambique’s turn toward integrity

The signs point to a democracy derailed. Barely 1 in 3 voters turned out for the Oct. 9 elections in the African nation of Mozambique. An opposition candidate declared himself the winner. Days later, two of his closest associates were fatally shot. Street clashes broke out between protesters and security forces.

Official results are due Thursday. The national election commission is widely expected to declare the ruling party’s candidate the winner. Opposition leaders have called for two days of nationwide protests. Court challenges are likely.

For decades, turbulence during elections in Africa meant hope deferred. Now it more often confirms an extraordinary moment of transformation across the world’s youngest and fastest-changing continent.

Fed up with corruption, extremist violence, and economic dysfunction, Mozambicans are breaking the grip of two political factions that have battled each other for decades at the cost of their nation’s development. Many who didn’t vote went to polling stations anyway to call for – as a coalition of civil society organizations put it – “mais integridade” (“more integrity”).

“The ideologies and alliances of the past are starting to crack” in Mozambique, noted Emilia Columbo, an Africa analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “Voters who did show up to the polling stations arrived with a deep commitment to exercising their civic duty, waiting in lines for hours in the heat to cast their ballot.”

In many societies, from Myanmar to Venezuela, a key challenge for pro-democracy activists is how to get rid of ruling parties that have worn out their welcome. The shift can often happen suddenly. Already this year, youthful protesters in Senegal and Bangladesh forced recalcitrant leaders from power, while South African voters broke 30 years of one-party rule.

In one sign of how democratic norms are deepening in Africa, the incumbent president in Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, is giving up power peacefully after reaching the constitutional limit of two terms. That’s just a start.

For the first time, the two main presidential candidates were born after independence. The ruling party, in power since Portuguese colonialists left in 1974, looks set to retain power. Independent observers say the voting process was flawed and should be thoroughly investigated.

But what may matter more is who comes in second. A new opposition party called Podemos – “We Can” – is poised to hold a majority in parliament. Across Africa, no trend has mattered more in advancing democracy than the growth of competent oppositions.

“We must form a government that does not depend on party criteria,” insisted Venâncio Mondlane, the opposition candidate. “It will depend on patriotic criteria, meritocracy and, above all, commitment to the country.”

That kind of rhetoric has fed the civic expectations of a new generation of African voters. More and more, their leaders are listening.