The candidate of the ruling party in Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, was elected president, the country’s electoral commission announced Thursday October 24, two weeks after the general elections of October 9 marred by irregularities, according to international observers.
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Invested by the Frelimo party, which has held the reins of this southern African country for half a century, Daniel Chapo is credited with 70.67% of the votes in the presidential election against 20.32% in favor of his main opponent, Venâncio Mondlane, who claims victory and denounces fraud.
In third position, Ossufo Momade, president of Renamo, until then the main opposition party, with 5.81%). Lutero Simango, the president of the MDM, the third political force in Parliament, comes in fourth position, credited with 3.21%.
Participation was particularly low at only 43.48%, the Electoral Commission told the press.
Also readMozambique elections: EU observers note ‘irregularities’ during voting
Results which must still be validated by the Constitutional Council
Before the announcement of the results, the president of the National Electoral Commission, Carlos Matsinhe, explained that several actions had been taken before the courts and the Constitutional Council.
Disputes of which we do not know the outcome. However, the CNE was required to announce the results within 15 days after the vote. The appeals initiated, according to Carlos Matsinhe, “ can have an impact on the results » announced today. “ The announcement of the results does not close the process, as long as they have not been validated “, he clarified.
The surprises of this election
Until his appointment last May by Frelimo, the party that has ruled the country since independence, Daniel Chapo was an unknown in the eyes of the Mozambican population. He was governor of Inhambane province, before his election to the presidency, with nearly 71% of the votes, according to the Electoral Commission.
At just 47 years old, Daniel Chapo becomes the first president born after Mozambique’s independence in 1975. He is also the first head of state not to have participated in the ensuing civil war, which lasted 15 years and killed a million people.
The other surprise is precisely the political breakthrough of his main competitor: Venâncio Mondlane. At 50 years old, “VM7” or Venâncio, as his supporters call him, was the candidate of the small Podemos party, but he was able to win against the historic opposition parties. Just after the election, he denounced a “ electoral banditry » organized by the Electoral Commission.
Irregularities also noted by observers from the European Union.
Last week, two relatives of Venâncio Mondlane were shot dead in the center of the capital Maputo, provoking demonstrations at the start of the week, repressed by the police.
Also readMozambique: assassination of two relatives of the main opponent
The opponent called today for “ paralyze the country “. Cities across the country remained calm all morning, until this afternoon according to AFP, when hundreds of demonstrators began marching in Maputo, as well as Nampula and Nacala in the northeast of the country.