Besides the Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique and the Press Law, there are other legal instruments for the protection and promotion of freedom of expression and freedom of the press, namely: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter of Human and Peoples Rights, Law nº 14/2011 (Administrative Procedures Act), Decree nº 30/2011 (Public Administration Procedures Standards), the Law for the Protection of Witnesses (Law nº 15/2012) and the Law of Access to Information (Law nº 34/2014). With these legal instruments which promote and guarantee freedom of expression and of the press, including the right of access to information, it is confirmed that there are bases for the exercise of freedom of expression and of the press in the country. But, in effective terms, there are several aspects that contribute to limiting the full exercise of these freedoms, such as anti-democratic laws on state secrecy, laws that elevate crimes of defamation, slander and insult to certain figures (including general secretaries of political parties sitting in the Assembly of the Republic) to the category of an attack on state secrecy and the absence of incentives for the circulation of newspapers (paid carriage would be one of them). In the context of opening to a multiparty system, the fifth round of general elections took place in 2014 (presidential, legislative and provincial assemblies) when current President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi (Frelimo) was elected with 57% of the valid votes, while his governing party lost a considerable number of seats in parliament (Assembleia da República) (144 against 191 in 2009) with opposition parties Renamo (89 against 49 in 2009) and MDM (17 against eight in 2009), increasing their number of seats compared to the previous elections. The country will hold its sixth round of general elections (legislative and presidential) in 2019 and the third round for provincial assemblies – with provincial governors being elected for the first time due to the revision of the Decentralisation Law, Law nº 04/2019. The country’s media landscape has been characterised by visible growth in the areas of printed copy, radio and television (TV). As a result, channels and platforms for the dissemination of diverse types of content are increasing. As this happens, new spaces, platforms and mechanisms for the exercise of free speech and free press expand and with a strong presence in digital social networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp and others in the spotlight, citizens participate actively in debating issues of public interest and topics in the social, political, economic, cultural and other domains. The report on the regulation of telecommunications in Mozambique indicates that in 2016, the number of subscribers to telecommunication services (which includes the internet) grew by 11%. There has been a slight progression in the global average of the media barometer in Mozambique between 2011 (2.8 points) and 2014 (3.1 points) – a difference of 0.3 points – the score has fallen sharply in this 2018 evaluation, now showing a global average of 2.2 points. According to the panellists, the main reasons are those listed in the beginning of this summary, with emphasis on (i) the prevalence of citizens’ fear to publicly express their opinions and thoughts (ii) threats to journalists (iii) attempts against the lives and safety of journalists 6 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MOZAMBIQUE 2018