MAPUTO: Daniel Chapo, the ruling party candidate from Mozambique’s Frelimo party, has won the country’s presidential election held on October 9, securing nearly 71 percent of the vote, the National Election Commission (CNE) announced on Thursday. Chapo’s victory marks a continuation of Frelimo’s half-century dominance in the southern African nation.
At 47, Chapo will become Mozambique’s first president born after the country gained independence from Portugal in 1975, and he will officially take office in January 2024. His main opponent, Venancio Mondlane of the Podemos party, garnered just over 20 percent of the vote. However, Mondlane, 50, has rejected the results, alleging widespread electoral fraud and manipulation in favor of Frelimo.
Mondlane has been vocal in his opposition, using social media to call for nationwide protests against what he described as Frelimo’s stranglehold on power. In a statement posted on Facebook late Wednesday, he urged Mozambicans to participate in a “great national demonstration” against the ruling party.
“The time has come for the people to take power and say that we now want to change the history of this country,” Mondlane said. “In all the neighborhoods, all the districts, we are going to be on the streets, there won’t be enough bullets for everyone, there won’t be tear gas for everyone, there won’t be enough armored vehicles.”
Tensions have risen in Mozambique, which has a history of post-election violence. Over the weekend, a lawyer representing Mondlane, Elvino Dias, and an opposition activist, Paulo Guambe, were murdered in an ambush. Thousands of mourners attended the burial in Maputo on Wednesday. Mondlane has accused the security forces of being behind the killings, and fears for his own safety.
Outgoing President Filipe Nyusi, who has reached the constitutional two-term limit, warned that calls for violent protests could be considered criminal acts. “Inciting the population to revolt, misinforming the world, and creating chaos for political purposes can be considered criminal acts,” Nyusi said on Wednesday.
Mondlane, a former radio presenter, has energized younger voters in the economically struggling nation. On Monday, he was among a group of demonstrators tear-gassed by police in the capital during a protest over the election results. He also accused security forces of shooting and wounding three people during a protest in Nampula on October 17.
Election observers from the European Union have voiced concerns about the legitimacy of the election, highlighting irregularities during the counting process and the alteration of results at polling stations and district levels. Last year, several people were killed in clashes after Frelimo’s controversial victory in municipal elections.
