Mozambique’s top court has declared the victory of the country’s ruling Frelimo party and its 47-year-old presidential candidate Daniel Chapo in an election that was marred by widespread fraud after nearly two months of violent protests that have left more than 100 people dead. Went. People and many others were injured. FRELIMO has been in power for 49 years.
After more than 55 days of waiting, Constitutional Council President Lucia Ribeiro acknowledged irregularities in the election on Monday, but said they had no significant impact on the results and that Daniel Chapo of the ruling Frelimo party won with 65.17% of the vote. Achieved. vote, while opposition politician Venancio Mondlane received 24.29% of the vote.
The Constitutional Council also gave FRELIMO a majority in parliament and all 10 provincial governorates.
The results were initially announced by the National Electoral Commission in late October and more than eight weeks of protests followed after Mondlane rejected the results and called for protests, resulting in clashes with police. At least 130 people died.
“One, declares citizen Daniel Francisco Chapo elected President of the Republic of Mozambique. The other, validates the results of the parliamentary elections on October 9, 2024,” Ribeiro said.
According to the final decision, for the Parliament, FRELIMO’s number of seats was reduced from 195 to 169. The Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique, which supported Mondlane, remains the second largest party. Its number of seats increased from 31 to 43.
Several elections were held in Mozambique on 9 October: presidential, legislative and provincial. Chapo won in results announced by the National Electoral Commission in October.
In his acceptance speech on Monday, Chapo said he was ready to serve the interests of all Mozambicans, not just his party, and promised to enact a number of reforms.
“In these days it has become clear that our electoral system needs a deep reform, and we all agree with that,” Chapo said. “We need to build a new democratic architecture that responds to the aspirations of our society, not just partisan interests. I would like to take this opportunity to say that I stand ready to lead this reform process of our society. And not just partisan interests. I would like to take this opportunity to say that I am willing to lead this reform process.”
Soon after the results were announced, Mondlane’s supporters protested again in the capital Maputo, burning tires and blocking roads.
Mondlane accused Frelimo of vote-rigging and called for a national shutdown starting this Friday.
Adriano Nuvunga, a human rights activist and director of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights, says the results announced by the Constitutional Council will only bring problems to the country rather than solutions.
“It is incredible that the Constitutional Council read these results, knowing that the general condition of the nation in Mozambique feels affected by these results. It is for the Council to find a formula to bring the nation together, to make everyone feel It would be a moment of mobilization for what the next government would be like, Nuvunga said.
Several human rights organizations reported that violent and repressive measures were used by security forces against protesters participating in peaceful demonstrations. At least 300 protesters have been arrested in connection with these demonstrations since October.
Violent protests are expected to continue in Mozambique for at least the coming weeks, with all parties contesting the election rejecting the results on Monday.