Human rights activist, ex-chairman and founder of the Mozambique Human Rights League (which was established in 1993), Maria Alice Mabota, has declared her intention to run for president in the country. She made this declaration by filing her nomination papers for the presidential election scheduled for the 15th of October 2019.
What this means for Mozambique and Africa
This is historical for Mozambique because it will be the first time a female presidential candidate will be on the ballot paper since the multiparty democracy system was approved in 1992. Mabota is known for her strength of character and for being a voice for the social and economic welfare of the people of Mozambique. Mabota will be running for the Democratic Alliance Coalition, a grouping of six small political parties. Interestingly, she is not a member of any of the six parties in the coalition she will be running under. It appears that the party members are one with Mabota’s mission to rescue Mozambique, as “the country is now going backwards in terms of the rule of law,” she stated after filing her nomination.
A History of Female-friendly Leadership
According to Peace Women, as of 2008, Mozambique was one of the 15 countries in the world with the highest representation of women in parliament, at 35%. By 2014 the number went up to 39.4% with a target to reach 50% by 2015. Although this goal has not been reached yet, a lot of progress has been made in advancing female leadership because in 2018, female representation in parliament was up by 40%.
Mozambique is on its way to catching up with Senegal and South Africa, which both have a 42% female representation, and maybe in the near future, Rwanda which has a total of 61.3% female representation in parliament, the highest in the world.
Who Else is in the Race?
So far, up to five presidential candidates have also filed their nominations. They include the incumbent Filipe Nyusi of the ruling Frelimo party, who is running for a second term in office, Ossufo Momade who is the leader of the main opposition party, Daviz Simango, mayor of Beira and leader of the Mozambique Democratic Movement. Also, singer Helder Mendonca, popularly known by his stage name: Dino XS, is running under the Party of Optimists for the Development of Mozambique.
Mabota has not won the elections and we do not know if she will but, surely, this will encourage women to participate more actively in politics across other regions in Africa.
