Mozambique headed for crucial elections amid jihadist insurgency and drought-induced hunger

Mozambicans will vote this week for a new president who many hope will bring peace to an oil- and gas-rich northern province that has been ravaged by a jihadist insurgency for nearly seven years. Close to 17 million voters will vote for the next president, alongside 250 members of parliament and provincial assemblies, on Wednesday. During the six-week campaign period, which ended Sunday, the frontrunners promised that violence in the north of the country will be their main priority, although none has laid out a plan to end it. Mozambique has been fighting an Islamic State-affiliated group that has launched attacks on communities in the province of Cabo Delgado since 2017, including beheadings and other killings.