When it was 1 pm (two hours before the Constitutional Council announced the results), presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane entered the ‘scene’ via his official Facebook page. In his appearance, he ordered the cancellation of all public and private activity until Friday 27 December.
According to Mondlane, the measure aims to open up space for the people to reflect on the type of country they want to have in the coming years, stressing that ‘this is the time to organise Mozambique’ and that all Mozambican citizens ‘must be more intelligent, smarter, wiser and united’.
‘This whole week, until Friday, there will be no work. Everything is cancelled in Mozambique. Let’s think about our country, this is a unique opportunity we have. While the helicopters are flying overhead, we’ll be thinking about what to do. During this period, our market ladies can work, but formal activity is cancelled,’ he said.
During the hour-long live , the politician stressed that ‘this is the time to organise the country, let’s open our eyes. The right to resistance is a right that belongs to all Mozambicans and is written in the Constitution of the Republic. The Defence and Security Forces are used to kill the people, there are unjust legalities practised by murderers and dictators.’
Mondlane also criticised the management of the current government, questioning the sustainability of the backdated payments made recently to civil servants and the Armed Forces, and also raised issues related to human rights and corruption.
‘Let’s wait and see if grenades, explosives, AKM bullets or tear gas come out of Lúcia Ribeiro’s mouth. They will decide whether the country will continue down the path of dictatorship, assassinations, death squads, corruption, swindling, robberies, kidnappings and abductions. Will we continue to live on crumbs? We are plunged into misery, bad governance and corruption,’ he concluded.
“This whole week until Friday, there will be no work. Everything is cancelled in Mozambique. Let’s think about our country, this is the only opportunity we have. While the helicopters are flying overhead, we’re going to think about what to do. During this period, our market ladies can work, but formal activity is cancelled”
This Monday, 23 December 2024, at 3pm local time, the Constitutional Council will proclaim the final results of the general elections held on 9 October this year. The proclamation will take place at the Joaquim Chissano International Conference Centre in Maputo and will be led by the President of the body, Lúcia Ribeiro.
According to the statement, the proclamation includes the results of the presidential, legislative and provincial elections. These elections have been hotly contested since the preliminary announcement by the National Electoral Commission (CNE) on 24 October, which awarded victory to the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), in power since 1975. Daniel Chapo, the Frelimo candidate, was declared the winner of the presidential election with 70.67 per cent of the votes, while Venâncio Mondlane, from the Podemos party, came second with 20.32 per cent.
The opposition, led by Mondlane, did not recognise the results announced by the CNE, alleging irregularities and electoral fraud. Mondlane appealed to the Constitutional Council, asking for a review of the process and demanding the ‘restoration of electoral truth’. Since then, demonstrations and stoppages have taken place in various cities across the country, often degenerating into violent clashes with the security forces.
According to data from the Decide Electoral Platform, which monitors electoral processes in Mozambique, at least 130 people died in the post-election demonstrations, 2,000 were injured and 3,636 were arrested. In addition, 385 people were injured by gunfire and five people are still missing.
Text: Cleusia Chirindza
