MAPUTO – Mozambique’s ruling party candidate Daniel Chapo was declared the winner of the country’s presidential election on Thursday, as the opposition said the vote was rigged and one party said it would challenge the result in court.
According to the national electoral commission, Chapo won with 70.67% of the votes nationwide, followed by independent candidate Venancio Mondlane with 20.32% of the votes. Third place went to opposition candidate Renamo Ossufo Momade with 5.81% of the votes.
The results of the October 9 elections mean that the ruling Mozambican Liberation Front, or Frelimo, party has extended its 49 years in power since the southern African country gained independence from Portugal in 1975. It then fought a bloody 15-year civil war with the rebel group Renamo, which later became the main opposition party and also contested this election.
In a speech shortly after the results were announced, Chapo told supporters he condemned the recent killings of two opposition activists. He also criticized strikes called by the opposition in what it said was systematic fraud.
Police cracked down on demonstrations this week, dispersing them with tear gas.
“As the Frelimo party, we want to reiterate that we deny the murder of Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe, as well as other citizens physically affected by the ongoing demonstration process,” Chapo said.
Dias, a lawyer and adviser to opposition presidential candidate Mondlane, was killed last Friday in the capital port of Maputo when gunmen shot through his car. Guambe, the party spokesman, was also in the car and was killed.
Chapo promised to “try to do better for the people of Mozambique” regardless of race, religion or political affiliation.
Lutero Simango of the opposition Democratic Movement of Mozambique, who received just over 3% of the vote, on Thursday questioned the election results and said his party would challenge them in court.
“We from MDM will be on the side of the nation, on electoral justice and we will fight any manipulation, which is why we will combine legal and political actions to ensure that the results reflect the will of the voters,” he said.
Despite the confirmation of the results by the electoral commission, the final vote after considering the opposition’s appeal will rest with the Constitutional Council.
Chapo will face immediate challenges, including an extremist organization linked to Islamic State that has carried out attacks on communities in the northern province of Cabo Delgado since 2017. She performed several decapitations.
The United Nations said earlier this year that about 600,000 of the 1.3 million people who fled the province since 2017 have returned home, with many reaching devastated communities where homes, markets, churches, schools and health care facilities.
Mozambique is also struggling with high levels of unemployment and hunger, which are further exacerbated by severe drought caused by El Nino. According to the UN World Food Programme, 1.3 million people face serious food shortages.
Frelimo has often been accused of rigging the elections, which it has consistently denied. Current president Filipe Nyusi of Frelimo is stepping down after serving the maximum two permitted terms.
An EU observer mission found this week that some election observers were prevented from monitoring vote counting in some areas and there was an “unjustified change” in results at some polling stations.
Independent political analyst Onisio Buanaissa said it was in the country’s interest for the opposition to accept the election results announced by the electoral commission.
“You may not be happy with the result, but you have to respect the fact that it is the majority. This is the logic of liberal democracies,” he said.
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