Mozambicans to vote on Wednesday in hotly contested elections

FILE- In this file photo dated Friday, Sept. 5, 2014, Mozambique President Arnando Guebuza, left, and former Renamo rebel leader Afonso Dhlakama, shake hands after signing a peace accord in Maputo, Mozambique. Dhlakama returned to the capital after a two year absence, to take part in elections to take place Wednesday Oct. 15. 2014. (AP Photo/Ferhat Momade-FILE) (The Associated Press)

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File: In this file photo taken Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013, a woman and children colect stones from roadside sand to sell as building material, in Inchope, northern Mozambique. The country goes to the polls Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014, with the winners of the election set to control natural resources in the northern part of the country worth billions of dollars. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi, File) (The Associated Press)

File: In this file photo taken Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013 a man on a scooter transports live chickens to sell in Inchope, northern Mozambique. The country goes to the polls Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014, with the winners of the election set to control natural resources in the northern part of the country worth billions of dollars. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi) (The Associated Press)

Mozambique's national elections on Wednesday, October 15, will determine what political party will control gas and coal reserves worth billions.

Analysts expect the ruling Frelimo party to win, although its presidential candidate, Defense Minister Filipe Nyusi, was virtually unknown before campaigning began earlier this year. This is Mozambique's most closely contested election since independence in 1975.

Opposition is coming from former civil war rebel Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the National Resistance Movement and from a new party, the Mozambique Democratic Movement, which is appealing to young Mozambicans.

The country on Africa's south eastern coast has seen recent clashes but Mozambique has remained largely peaceful ahead of the vote.

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