Jump to navigation

Mozambique

Frelimo faces electoral defeat in Maputo after court orders recount in local elections

Opposition Renamo sees ruling as vindicating its claims of systemic electoral fraud

A wave of protests claiming massive vote rigging by the ruling Frente de Libertação de Moçambique's (Frelimo) party in the 11 October local elections have prompted courts to order a series of recounts and new polls.

After the results announced by the Comissão Nacional de Eleições (electoral commission – CNE), Frelimo declared that it had won 64 out of 65 municipalities (AC Vol 64 No 21, Stolen election claims trigger protests). Activists rejected these results amid widespread reports of irregularities such as ballot stuffing, and organised nationwide protests on 12 and 17 October.

Courts have issued orders to recount votes in Matola and for new elections to be held in Chokwe (Gaza Province) and in Kamavota and Kampfumo (both in Maputo Province). Parallel counts suggest that the main opposition Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (Renamo) won Matola and Maputo by a landslide – but the district elections commission announced that Frelimo has won in Matola and Maputo.

The United States embassy in Maputo pointed to the 'many credible reports of irregularities on voting day and during the vote tabulation process', adding that CNE 'must ensure all votes are counted accurately and transparently.'

The influential Conferência Episcopal de Moçambique (CEM) and its leader, Maputo Archbishop João Carlos, has also pointed to 'illicit acts and irregularities' in the election which have 'have generated a high degree of mistrust in Mozambican society and have the risk of causing instability and continued social tensions throughout the nation.'

Frelimo insiders are concerned that the backlash has seriously damaged the the standing of the party and that of President Filipe Nyusi ahead of presidential elections in 2024.

On 26 October the CNE is constitutionally required to announce results in all 65 municipalities, and submit those results to the Constitutional Council which will have to adjudicate on the huge gaps between official results and parallel counts. If court rulings don't put that process on hold, activists are likely to organise more protests.



Related Articles

Stolen election claims trigger protests

Evidence of mass vote-rigging in municipal elections has prompted public anger and infighting in the ruling party

Widespread protests followed ruling party Frente de Libertação de Moçambique's (Frelimo) declaration of a near clean sweep in the 11 October municipal elections, despite evidence from parallel counts...


The people's land

Frelimo ministers seem keen to sell the land that feeds the people, often to themselves

The great southern African land rush is on. President Joaquim Chissano's government is almost half-way towards its target of selling concessions for some 20 million hectares of arable...


The race opens up

The governing party's next Central Committee meeting promises to be an unusually lively affair. On 27 February the Frente de Libertação de Moçambique has to decide who is...


Tension at the top

Greatly strengthened by November's local elections (AC Vol 44 No 24), the Secretary General of Frente de Libertaçao de Moçambique (Frelimo), Armando Guebuza, is preparing to purge the...


Guilty plea on conspiracy

The case against the bankers in the $2bn loans scandal has brought confessions, but there are doubts about how deep the trial will go

The United States case against eight defendants accused of fraud and money-laundering in Mozambique's US$2 billion hidden loan scandal has secured two guilty pleas at the Eastern District...