The democratic challenges of leadership succession & re-legitimisation in opposition political parties. The Case of RENAMO in Mozambique

In October 1994, two years after the signing of the General Peace Agreement between the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) guerrillas and the government of the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO), the demilitarisation of the conflict was achieved through a democratic transition characterised by the recognition of RENAMO as a political party and the holding of the first multi-party elections. The international validation of the founding election results marked the beginning of a new phase of political pluralism and electoral competition in the country. However, in 2013, the two-decade ‘success story’ of peacebuilding and post-war democratisation was thrown into crisis with the resurgence of armed clashes between the former guerrilla and the Mozambican state defence forces under the FRELIMO government. In 2019, after three peace processes and many ups and downs – including the death of the historic guerrilla leader and politician Afonso Dhlakama in 2018 – the FRELIMO and RENAMO political leadership reached the ‘Maputo Peace Accord’, which restored peace in the central region of the country.
This paper aims to contribute to the debate on the role of political opposition in the context of democratic regression in Africa through the case study of the RENAMO party in Mozambique. The objective of the study is threefold: 1) To review the political evolution of the RENAMO party and its contribution to democracy “from the opposition” over two decades of peace and multi-party competition (1994-2013); 2) To analyse the implications of the resurgence of armed conflict and peace processes on RENAMO party and the democratic regression in Mozambique over the last decade (2013-2024); 3) To identify key challenges of the political succession of Afonso Dhlakama to Ossufo Momade in the leadership of RENAMO (2018-2024) for the future of the main opposition political party and the Mozambican democracy.