Mozambique is set for a watershed election that will see a change of the presidential guard, with the era of leaders who forged their careers in the trenches of the independence war against Portuguese rule coming to an end.<\/p>\n
For the first time, the once all-powerful Frelimo party is fielding a presidential candidate who was born after independence – the charismatic 47-year-old Daniel Chapo, who it hopes will rally voters fed up with its 49-year rule.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn some places Frelimo campaign members have been booed and openly rejected,\u201d political commentator Charles Mangwiro tells the BBC.<\/p>\n
Mozambique – strategically located along the southern African coast and rich in natural resources, but hit by an insurgency in the remote north – will hold presidential elections on Wednesday, along with parliamentary and gubernatorial elections.<\/p>\n
President Filipe Nyusi is stepping down at the end of his two terms and hopes to hand the reigns of power to Chapo. His government had to deal with the fallout of the “tuna bond” corruption scandal – which triggered the country’s worst economic crisis.<\/p>\n
In comparison, Chapo is a breath of fresh air – and draws big crowds at rallies across the country as he distances himself from the corruption that has plagued Frelimo for much of its rule since independence in 1975.<\/p>\n
“Brother Dan is honesty in person… He is the voice of hope we want to embrace… It’s time for change,” say the lyrics of one of his campaign songs.<\/p>\n
But human rights activist and journalist Mirna Chitsungo says she doubts whether Chapo can convince all voters that he can change Frelimo.<\/p>\n
“If we have a degraded country, it is because of corruption. He faces the challenge of promising to fight this evil while belonging to a party that, on a large scale, has perpetuated corruption,” she told the BBC.<\/p>\n
Counting in Chapo’s favour is the fact that he is a relative newcomer in the political arena, having joined government only in 2011 as a district administrator, rising by 2019 to become governor of the southern Inhambane province until taking over as general secretary of Frelimo in May.<\/p>\n