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Mozambican Civil Society Within: Evaluation, Challenges, Opportunities and Action
Figure 3.4.8: Evolution of Electoral Abstention as a Proxy for Political Trust,
Mozambique 1994-2004
100%
90%
80%
70%
64%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
13%
31%
0%
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Source: de Brito, 2006
Source: de Brito et al., 2005: 7
The recent electoral registration process did not show any improvement in the ordinary citizen’s
enthusiasm and confidence in electoral bodies.
The predominance of informality in society can be seen as an expression of the state’s difficulty
in involving the ordinary citizen in formal mechanisms through services and forms of useful
engagement.
The UTRESP study on governance and corruption also gathered concrete evidence about the
specific entities in which people have little confidence; they included the justice system and the
police.
Some NAG members expressed their concern over examples of rigidity, growing confusion
between the state and the party in power, comments on forms of intimidation and the use of
psychological pressure for election registration or, in the districts, for certain party actions.
3.4.4 Empowering Citizens
This sub-dimension analyses civil society’s capacity to strengthen the capabilities of citizens. It
received a score of 0.8, indicating weak empowerment capacity. Table 3.4.4 summarizes the
score for the respective indicators.
Civil Society Index, Mozambique 2007
93