EISA Maputo hosts a presentation & debate on the Mozambique Parliament

The Mozambican office of EISA hosted a presentation by Dr Elisabete Azevedo, followed by public debate, on The Profile of the Mozambican Parliament and the Mozambican MP: From enemies to political adversaries? in Maputo on 26 May 2009. Around 70 people attended the presentation, including ten senior MPs. Two MPs, the rapporteur of the majority Frelimo bench and a former Renamo minority whip, were discussants.

The presentation received wide media interest and coverage. She was interviewed by a number of TV channels, radio stations, and print media, as this was one of the first studies of this nature on the Mozambican Parliament. Her study of the Mozambican Parliament began in 2005 as part of her PhD dissertation research and was concluded in 2008. She conducted qualitative interviews with MPs, staff, journalists, academics and civil society representatives, in addition to the review of parliamentary documents and studies, and direct observation of the functioning of the Parliament. She also conducted an in depth quantitative survey of 50 MPs through a random, stratified sample.

Elisabete Azevedo, a Portuguese national with considerable Africa experience, has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Cape Town and is a researcher for UCT and the Catholic University of Lisbon.