From the very beginning, as I began to inquire about the political systems in Mozambique, I recognized similarities between Mozambique's government and the government of Pakistan (my country of origin).

The first thing that comes to mind is that I originate from a country with a very perplexing politcal system to say the least. This continues to challenge me as my politcal knowledge/understanding is very limited. This past week we have been examining the poilitcal architecture of Mozambique and then comparing this system with that of our country of origin.  This involved becoming familiar with Pakistan's formal institutional architecture first.

In the current parlimentary system of Pakistan, the President is the head of state, the Prime Minister is head of government, and there is a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government, while the Legislative power is mainly in Parliament. In Mozambique, the President selects the Prime Minister, but in the Pakistani system, the Prime Minister is elected by the National Assembly (which itself is elected by the people). The President of Mozambique is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is in both the government and the Assembly.

In both Pakistan and Mozambique, the President may only be elected twice for a five year term in office. Mozambique has direct Presidential elections while the President of Pakistan is chosen by an electoral college that consists of the Senate, the National Assembly, and the Provincial Assemblies. Members of the National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies are directly elected by the people in competitive multi-party elections. Members of the Senate are indirectly elected by the provincial assemblies.

The most appealing thing about Mozambique's political system is the election of the President by the people, for this is truly a democratic practice. While the people are the ones to elect the members of the National Assembly in Pakistan, I feel that ultimately it is the Assembly that determines who rules the nation (as they elect both the President and the Prime Minister). The least appealing aspect of Mozambique's system is the fact that the President selects his or her Prime Minister. In the American system, this is similar to the position of Vice President. But I think that to some extent this limits the distribution of power as the Prime Minister most likely is from the same party as the President. In the Pakistani system, the President and Prime Minister have usually been from opposing Parties, and this allows for further distribution of power.

Pakistan has had a long history of alternating times of electoral democracy and authoritarian military government. The transition to democratic elections in Mozambique have so far been a permanent change after the country's first democratic election in 1994. In the case of Pakistan, there has been great instability as authoritarian rule is attempted to be replaced by democratic practices, which last only a short period of time before the government is overthrown by the military. The last general elections of 2008 are still questionable regarding the degree of fairness and equality. While it is not entirely reasonable to compare developing countries such as Pakistan and Mozambique (with fairly new democracies) to countries such as the United States with older and much more established democracies, it is fairly legitimate to compare the two developing democracies of Pakistan and Mozambique. I am inspired by Mozambique's successful attempts at implementing democracy after gaining independence only in 1975, while Pakistan has been stuggling with adapting core democratic practices even though it has been independent since 1947. I see democracy in Mozambique as a sort of model for countries in turmoil, such as Pakistan, to follow.