“The period around the turn of the millennium, in particular, indicated that
democracy was not yet consolidated in Mozambique. FRELIMO benefited from the
disbursement of state funds and other resources for its campaign, as well as from
biased reporting by the state-controlled media. RENAMO claimed that the December 1999 elections had been rigged, and refused to take up its seats in parliament until October 2000. Brazão Mazula calls this period a phase of destabilisation. According to him, democratisation, which prevailed between 1990 and 1994, corresponds to a phase of ‘real democratic cohabitation’ during which a democratic culture was established. This was done by involving all
parties in programmes of national reconstruction, with the objective of
strengthening their ownership of the development process. In fact, democratic
cohabitation created an expectation among Mozambican citizens that they would
now be entitled to debate topics of vital national importance before the taking of
political decisions.”
