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The question of how to proceed with democratic decentralisation has been of political concern in Mozambique over the past decade. In accordance with post-war constitutional commitments to démocratisation after the country’s post-independence flirtation with socialism and a high degree of centralism, the process of decentralisation has taken two forms. First, a system of locally elected governments in the form of municipalities (municipios) for the urban and semi-urban areas was approved in 1997 to cover the devolution of direct although limited powers and functions to autonomous elected bodies. The Municipal Law (2/1997) made provision for locally elected municipalities (autarquias locais) in 33 urban or peri-urban settings.1 Second, for the rest of the population (roughly .70 percent) and the local state administration, the process of decentralisation has taken the general form of de-concentration and a transfer of responsibility to lower level bodies within the state sector combined with different forms of participatory mechanisms for representation and consultation. These participatory mechanisms are grounded in community- based organisations claiming representative status on the basis of identity, interest, community, and similar factors.