MAPUTO – Mozambique was on edge on Sunday ahead of a ruling expected on Monday to determine the final results of October’s disputed elections, after allegations of rigging triggered weeks of protests in which security forces killed dozens of people.
The ruling party Frelimo was declared winner of the October 9 elections, extending its five-decade rule as the opposition accused it of fraud.
The election results must be validated by the Constitutional Council, the country’s top court, which says it will issue the final results at 3PM on Monday.
The main opposition presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane has threatened “chaos” if the constitutional council confirms the initial election results.
Frelimo’s Daniel Chapo, 47, is poised to succeed President Filipe Nyusi to become Mozambique’s fifth president since its independence from Portugal in 1975. Nyusi is stepping down after serving the maximum two terms.
Chapo won over 70 of votes, according to the country’s electoral commission. Mondlane, backed by the Podemos party, came second with 20 percent of votes, displacing former rebel movement Renamo, which had been the official opposition party but whose candidate came third this time around.
In parliament, Frelimo increased its number of seats to 195 out of 250, more than the 184 it had before.
Observers have said the election was not free and fair. A European Union mission reported irregularities during counting and alteration of results at the local and district level, problems which have marred most polls since Frelimo first allowed multi-party elections in 1994
“On Monday the whole country must stop,” Mondlane said in a broadcast streamed on Facebook last Friday from an undisclosed location abroad.
He called for prayers in the south-east African country on Sunday.
“We are giving the opportunity to pray for the judges of the constitutional council, to pray for [its chair] Dr Lúcia Ribeiro, so that on Monday, from her, justice comes out, the electoral truth does not come out as a lie,” he said.
Mondlane, who holds sway over many of the country’s young voters and claims he is the true election winner, has threatened chaos if Frelimo’s election victory is not overturned.
Protests gripped the country shortly after the results were announced and security forces killed at least 130 people and injured hundreds more, according to Human Rights Watch.
Chapo, a lawyer, is seen as a business-friendly choice who analysts say is likely to maintain the status quo, including a fight against Islamist insurgents in the north and partnerships with companies like Exxon Mobil which are trying to get major gas projects off the ground.
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