How does Mozambique govern?

When we arrive in Mozambique, we will so be privy to observing their national elections. After observing our own hard fought elections last year, it will be interesting to see the comparisons. As part of our preparation, we have been reading several articles that help us to understand some major differences in the way we govern our nation as opposed to the way that Mozambique governs its own.

One major difference with Mozambique and the United States is the amount of power and control that the president has. Carrie Manning in our reading speaks of Mozambique being described as a country whose leadership is seen as "semi-presidential". The author also states that this country doesn't fit the designation quite so succinctly. The term "semi-presidentialism" as described in Manning's article "has three characteristics: the president is directed by universal suffrage; and the president shares executive powers with a "prime minister and ministers who posses executive and governmental power and can stay in office only if the parliament does not show opposition to them" (Duverger, 1980, 166). In essence, although Mozambique has a prime minister (similar to our vice president, but with essentially more shared power), the president has the ability to remove both the prime minister, and the parliament.

This ability to dismiss key governmental officials differs quite considerably than our government. I can see the current health care debate in our own country going quite differently if our president has similar power. Two major decisions that the U.S president has on his agenda (health care and the Afghan strategic design) are both heated enought to exert the type of power that the Mozambican president could. However, just as it seems to work in Mozambique, the two major political parties (Frelimo and Renamo) are close enough during the elections and works as a deterrent to a major abuse of power of the presidency. As the Mozambican president has a two term option, so does our president. However, given the strong rule that could be used if we had the Mozambican governmental model, may prompt a president to risk a second term in lieu of a highly charged agenda.