News and Information
Clear victory in Mozambique poll
December 21, 2004
Mozambique's ruling party presidential candidate, Armando Guebuza, has been declared the winner of the presidential election.

Frelimo supporters greeted the result with joy when it was announced that Mr Guebuza had taken 64% of the vote.

The result is hotly contested by the main opposition party, Renamo.

European Union monitors said on Monday there were serious problems with the polls, but they were probably not sufficient to change the outcome.

Jubilant

Frelimo, which has been in power since independence in 1975, also took 160 out of the 250 parliamentary seats.

Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama has said his party will not take up their seats in parliament.


OFFICIAL RESULTS
Presidential poll:
Armando Guebuza , Frelimo - 63.74%
Afonso Dhlakama, Renamo - 31.74%
Parliamentary poll:
Frelimo - 160 seats
Renamo - 90 seats
Turnout:
36% of eligible voters

Profile: Mozambique's new hard man
The BBC's Jose Tembe in Maputo said the results do not come as a surprise as the partial results indicated Frelimo had a big margin.

Following the official election declaration the atmosphere in the Frelimo camp was jubilant and an election victory party is planned, our correspondent says.

But Renamo's reaction was more subdued, with only one representative at the result announcement.

According to Joe Hanlon, an analyst on Mozambican affairs, the opposition has a week to make its objections to the constitutional court.

But he said any challenge was unlikely to change the overall presidential result.

"It would probably change the number of parliamentary seats," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.

"Armando Guebuza has gotten exactly two million votes and Afonso Dhlakama has gotten one million votes," he said.

Mr Guebuza, who is expected to be inaugurated in January, has a reputation for cracking down on corruption, our correspondent says.


Source: BBCNEWS


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