The 1994 and 1999 presidential and parliamentary elections were widely hailed as a vote for peace. They were also seen as a test of electoral management, being held in the wake of the failure of the 1998 local government elections. Those elections were boycotted by the opposition parties who alleged that the national elections committee, the Comissâo Nacional de Eleicôes (CNE) and the Technical Secretariat for Election Administration (STAE) were partial to Frente de Libertaçâo de Moçambique (Frelimo). Only Frelimo and four groups of independent citizens in Maputo, Beira, Nacala and Manhiça took part in the local government elections.
The staging of well-run elections, and gaining acceptance of the results are often separate issues. Mozambique is a case in point, with the legitimacy of its recent commitment to multiparty elections hinging on all parties recognising the election results. One of the key mechanisms to achieving this acceptance of election results is to ensure that the body administering the elections operates in a transparent and accountable manner. Even the suspicion or allegation of wrongdoing, well founded or not, can be sufficient to derail an electoral process.