- Opposition presidential candidate has not been seen in public since last Monday and he has called for a popular revolt “from my barracks to fight for the people”
- Catholic Church calls for dialogue and considers a possible government of national unity
By Noémia Mendes
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – The National Elections Commission (CNE) will announce the final results of the elections held on 9 October, this Thursday, afternoon (24 October) in Maputo, in a context of growing fear of post-election violence in Mozambique.
The opposition candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, has not been seen in public since last Monday when he was attacked with tear gas grenades by the riot police, during a press conference in the capital, Maputo. From his hide-out, Mondlane has called his supporters for two days of strike, beginning exactly on the day when the election results will be announced.
“We are decreeing the opening of the gates of the revolution in Mozambique. As from 24 October, which is the day when the National Elections Commission wants to announce the election results, we are going to activate the second stage of the demonstrations, or the second stage of our revolutionary road map in Mozambique. We are going to paralyse the country”, declared Mondlane in a video transmitted on his Facebook page, where he has hundreds of thousands of followers.
Mondlane did not attend the funeral of his lawyer, Elvino Dias, held on Wednesday in Maputo. Dinis Tivane spoke representing him and explained that Mondlane was not participating directly in the funeral because “I have been ostracised, I am in my barracks to fight better for the people, a defenceless people.”
Essentially, Mondlane contests the preliminary results from the elections, divulged by the Provincial Elections Commissions, and which give an advantage to the presidential candidate of Frelimo, Daniel Chapo, and his party. He says he does not agree with the results, and states that, based on the parallel count of the votes made by his team, he won the elections, but his victory has been taken from him, by fraud.
National and internatiional observers, such as the European Union Election Observation Mission, have mentioned the occurrence of election fraud, including ballot box stuffing in some provinces.
The candidate for governor of Maputo province, for the opposition, Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), Fátima Mimbire, warned in an interview that if the ruling Frelimo Party and the National Elections Commission do not give signs of an agreement, the announcement of the results on Thursday “could lead us to an escalation of violence, since there is proof of ballot box stuffing”.
“If the CNE announces the results as they are, the country could be led into a post-election crisis", she added, stressing that “there must be a share-out and distribution of seats, based on what each of the parties obtained in these elections, including PODEMOS, MDM and New Democracy".
Catholic Church proposes Government of National Unity
The Catholic Bishops of Mozambique organization, issued a statement last Tuesday about the elections, in which they lamented that election fraud had occurred and appealed for dialogue and the formation of a Government of National Unity.
“Unfortunately, once again gross frauds took place. Once again there was ballot box stuffing, fake results sheets and many other ways of hiding the truth. The irregularities and frauds, by and large committed with impunity, boost the lack of trust in the election management bodies, and in leaders who abandon their dignity and despise the truth and the sense of service which should guide those to whom the people entrust their votes”, said the letter from the Bishops.
“Our repeated message, stressed even more today, is a strong appeal to halt the violence, the political crimes and the lack of respect for democracy. Let us have the courage to embark on dialogue and restore the truth”, urged the Bishops. They called on the public “not to resort to or foment violence, to have the courage to embark on dialogue, to create spaces for collaboration in governance, and to consider a possible government of national unity”.
Speaking for the first time about the post-election tension, President Filipe Nyusi said there is no reason for a popular revolt against the results of an electoral process that is still under way.
The President was disturbed at the demonstrations proposed for 24 and 25 October against results when the outcome of the elections was not yet known in the appropriate institutions. “If nobody knows who won or lost, how does he (Venâncio Mondlane) know?”, asked Nyusi.
The President also condemned, five days after they occurred, the murders of Mondlane’s lawyer and of an opposition election agent, Paulo Guambe and promised investigations.
Faced with the call for demonstrations on the day the election results will be announced, the police have urged people and political parties to comply with the law and avoid illegal demonstrations. (NM)
