Mozambique’s opposition party, Renamo, called on Monday for the cancellation of the October elections, which have been contested due to results favoring the ruling party, leading to violent protests across the country.
Renamo, which had previously been the main opposition party, saw its role overshadowed by the emergence of Podemos, a new party led by Venancio Mondlane, during the October 9th legislative and presidential elections. Mondlane denounced electoral fraud and launched a broad protest movement.
At a press conference, Ossufo Momade, the leader of Renamo, demanded the immediate annulment of the election results, announced on October 24th, and called for the establishment of an interim government pending new « free, fair, and transparent » elections.
According to the Electoral Commission, the ruling Frelimo party, in power for nearly 50 years, won the election with 71% of the vote, compared to 20% for Podemos and 6% for Renamo. However, Momade accused the government of electoral fraud, including ballot box manipulation, result falsification, the arrest of opposition party delegates, and vote counting without the presence of candidate representatives.
The protests initiated by Mondlane were marked by clashes with the police in several cities and near the South African border, which was closed several times. According to Human Rights Watch, over thirty people have died in the violence since October 19th, including the assassination of two opposition figures. Other local organizations estimate that the death toll could be much higher.
The Public Integrity Center (CIP) NGO described these elections as « the most fraudulent since 1999, » while the European Union’s election observation mission reported numerous irregularities, including « unjustified alterations of results. »
The Constitutional Council must confirm the election results at least two weeks before the inauguration of Daniel Chapo, the Frelimo candidate, scheduled for January, where he will succeed outgoing president Filipe Nyusi.
The government also announced on Monday that it was suing Venancio Mondlane and the Podemos party for about 32 million meticais (approximately 471,000 euros) in damages related to the protests, which caused destruction and blockages across the country. The public prosecutor is also investigating 208 criminal cases involving Podemos, with charges such as assault, incitement to collective disobedience, and conspiracy against the state.
In response to the situation, Mozambican authorities have decided to ban large-scale protests that have been shaking the country since the announcement of the results. The crackdown has also targeted journalists: two South African correspondents working for News Central TV were arrested in Maputo before being released on Friday after diplomatic negotiations. Additionally, two Portuguese journalists covering the protests were expelled from the country last week.