African state’s ruling party declared landslide winner in disputed vote

The presidential candidate of Mozambique’s ruling party has been declared the winner of general elections held earlier this month. Daniel Chapo’s victory extends the Frelimo party’s hold on power in the southern African country, which it has ruled for nearly 50 years.

Chapo won 70.68% of the votes cast on October 9, the Mozambican National Commission on Elections (CNE) announced on Thursday. The Podemos party-backed independent candidate Venancio Mondlane finished second with 20.32% of the vote, defeating the official opposition party Renamo, whose candidate Ossufo Momade polled 5.81%. The fourth candidate, Lutero Simango, obtained 3.21% and has vowed to challenge the results in court. According to CNE, turnout was 44.5%, seven points less than in the last vote in 2019.

The outcome has reportedly sparked violent protests in several cities, including Maputo, the capital. At least one person was killed and 44 others injured in clashes in Chimoio, the country’s fifth-largest city, state broadcaster TVM reported on Friday. Authorities have detained 15 people following the unrest, the outlet added.

Tensions have been high in Mozambique since voting ended more than two weeks ago. The opposition, particularly Mondlane, who claimed to have won the vote, accused the ruling coalition of rigging the elections. On Tuesday, he alleged that police had fired live bullets at him and his supporters during protests in Maputo. The politician had organized the marches the previous day to denounce the results and the recent assassination of his lawyer, Elvino Dias, and Podemos spokesperson Paulo Guambe. The attorney had reportedly been preparing an appeal for Podemos to challenge the final results before gunmen riddled his car with bullets over the weekend.

In a statement on Tuesday, European Union poll observers claimed they had detected “irregularities during the counting and unjustified alteration” of results. The group urged the Mozambican election authority to clarify the inconsistencies to reflect the “will of voters.” 

Addressing supporters shortly after the results were announced, president-elect Chapo criticized the strikes called by his rival against alleged “systematic deceit” while condemning the killings of Dias and Guambe.

“As the Frelimo party, we want to once again reiterate our repudiation of the murders of Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe as well as other citizens physically affected in this ongoing process of demonstrations,” AP cited him as saying.

Chapo will succeed President Filipe Nyusi, who has served the two terms allowed under the constitution. The 47-year-old, touted as potentially ushering in a new chapter for the resource-rich country, will be the first Mozambican leader born after independence in 1975. He has pledged to “do better for the Mozambican people,” regardless of their religious and political affiliations.

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