The Confederation of Economic Associations – CTA of Mozambique, which brings together the private sector, criticised on Friday the stoppage of activities called by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, warning of the economic impact of political speeches in post-election periods.
“We are already afflicted by the situation of foreign currency to meet imports and, on several occasions, we have warned that the economy suffers greatly from the excess of public holidays and time off. This kind of political discourse only complicates things further,” the CTA president told Lusa.
At issue is a strike called for Monday by Venâncio Mondlane, who is contesting the data called a strike for Monday announced by the district and provincial election commissions about the vote on 9 October, figures that give an advantage to the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo, the ruling party) and the presidential candidate the party supports, Daniel Chapo, with more than 60% of the vote.
For the CTA president, the instability that the country experiences cyclically after elections is a challenge for the economy, especially in a period that “stands still” until at least the approval of a new Five Year Plan next year.
“Post-election instability always impacts the economy, and politicians need to be aware of this,” he emphasised.
Venâncio Mondlane said the stoppage would be “one of the windows for contesting” the results, which he described as “grossly fraudulent”.
“It’s a basic right that every citizen has to join a strike, whether in the private or public sector, if they want to. If you don’t want to, you don’t join, but if you want to, you can join. You don’t need authorisation from anyone,” Mondlane insisted, stressing that this was a peaceful action.
“It’s not a public demonstration to attack institutions. If that happens, it’s out of line with what we want. It’s just paralysing activities. That’s all, it’s no more or less than that,” he said.
The general elections on 9 October included the seventh presidential elections, for which the current head of state, Filipe Nyusi, who has reached the two-term limit, is no longer running, as well as the seventh legislative elections and the fourth elections for provincial assemblies and governors.
The National Electoral Commission (CNE) has 15 days after the polls close to announce the official results of the elections, a date that falls on 24 October. After that, the Constitutional Council will proclaim the results once it has also concluded its analysis of any appeals, but no deadline has been set for this.
