Chamber:
	Assembleia da Republica
Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):
	27 October 1994 29 October 1994
Purpose of elections:
	Elections were held for all the seats in the new Parliament provided for in the Constitution of November 1990.
Background and outcome of elections:
	In October 1992, a peace treaty ending the country’s 16-year-old civil war between the Government and the rebel Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) movement was signed. General elections were then scheduled for one year later but subsequently postponed due to delay in the deployment of United Nations (UNOMOZ) forces to oversee the transition period and the creation of a unified Mozambican army. On 11 April 1994, the October election dates were set by presidential decree. Registration of voters took place from June through August, resulting in the inscription of some 80% of those eligible. The generally peaceful campaign lasted from 22 September to 14 October. Pursuant to the country’s multiparty Constitution of November 1990, the ruling Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO) was for the first time challenged for the 250 parliamentary seats. There were altogether 15 parties or coalitions and 2,637 candidates in contention. Issues debated, such as the country’s ailing economy (especially inflation) were overshadowed by an atmosphere of a mutual suspicion between the two main party opponents (FRELIMO and RENAMO). The legislative polling was held simultaneously with that for President of the Republic. Twelve candidates, headed by incumbent Joaquim Alberto Chissano (FRELIMO) and RENAMO leader Afonso Dhlakama, ran for this post. On the eve of the elections, RENAMO threatened to boycott them but subsequently changed its mind. Voting procedures were monitored by some 2500 (mainly UN) international observers. Final results, released on 19 November, gave the left-wing (formerly Marxist-Leninist) FRELIMO a narrow parliamentary majority over RENAMO, with the Democratic Union (UD) coalition being the only other group to attain the 5% threshold required to gain representation. The same day, Mr. A. Ajello, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Mozambique, declared the elections to have been free and fair despite some irregularities (complained about by RENAMO). He stated, however, that nothing had occurred “which could affect the overall credibility of the elections”. This view was shared by the foreign observers but not by RENAMO, which alleged fraud. On 8 December, the newly elected Assembly held its first session and, the next day, Mr. Chissano – who had won an outright majority in the first round of voting – was inaugurated as President. UNOMOZ finally withdrew its forces from Mozambique on 31 January 1995.

STATISTICS

Round no 1 (27 – 29 October 1994): Elections results
Number of registered electors	6,148,842
Voters	5,402,940 (87.87%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers	461,425
Valid votes	4,941,515

Round no 1: Distribution of votes
Political Group	Candidates	Votes	%
Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO)	341	2,115,793	44.33
Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO)	340	1,803,506	37.78
Democratic Union (UD)	235	245,793	5.15
Others	1,721	608,013	12.74

Round no 1: Distribution of seats
Political Group	Total
Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO)	129
Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO)	112
Democratic Union (UD)	9
Others	0

Distribution of seats according to sex:
Men:	187
Women:	63

Distribution of seats according to age:
Under 25 years	1
25-35 years	54
36-45 years	103
46-55 years	68
Over 55 years	21
Unknown	3
Distribution of seats according to profession:
Office staff	58
Teachers	40
Farmers	17
Company directors	14
Electricians	10
Lawyers	8
Engineers	8
Economists	7
Medical staff	6
Doctors	5
Journalists	4
Agricultural technicians	4
Mechanics	3
Students	2
Others	61
Unknown	3