Presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane revealed this Wednesday, 18 December, that the Mozambican President contacted him today (18) for the first time and said he was ‘deeply convinced’ that Filipe Nyusi wants to have reasons to declare a state of emergency and remain in power, Lusa reported .
In a videoconference with members of the Renew group (which includes the Liberal Initiative), held at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Venâncio Mondlane said that the head of state, Filipe Nyusi, had contacted him by telephone ‘for the first time since the demonstrations began two months ago’, but declined to give details of the conversation.
On 26 November, the head of state called a meeting with the four candidates for the general elections, but Mondlane did not attend and it was decided to call a second meeting so that he could be present.
‘I am deeply convinced that President Nyusi wants to remain in power. He expects me to encourage people to hold violent demonstrations in order to have a reason to declare a state of emergency so that he can stay in power for a few more weeks,’ said the presidential candidate, who rejects the results of the 9 October general elections announced by the National Electoral Commission (CNE).
The CNE awarded victory to Daniel Chapo, the candidate supported by the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), but the results still have to be validated by the Constitutional Council (CC).
To contest the official results, Venâncio Mondlane has called for demonstrations and stoppages in which, according to the Decide Electoral Platform, which monitors electoral processes in Mozambique, at least 130 people have died and 385 have been shot.
According to the Non-Governmental Organisation’s (NGO) report, with data up to 15 December, 3636 people have been arrested, five people have gone missing and more than 2,000 have been injured.
The CC’s announcement of the presidential results is expected on Monday (23) and Venâncio Mondlane admits that the protests could become more violent, although he refuses to make this appeal.
‘So far, the situation has been under control. We are trying to ensure that the protests take place within the constitutional right to demonstrate,’ he said, adding: ’I don’t know what will happen after the final results are announced, because I believe that the people will decide for themselves what they want to do.’
Protests in Mozambique
The candidate admits he is not optimistic and accuses the Constitutional Council of adopting ‘political activities to manipulate public opinion’, denouncing ‘a very dangerous situation for the country’.
‘It’s going to be a difficult situation to deal with because people are going to understand that this is the last phase and they are currently very attracted to more aggressive and intense measures,’ he anticipated.
This position, he emphasised, ‘is not an invitation to chaos’, refusing to prejudge the announcement of the CC, which ‘has the future of the country in its hands. I have no idea what my next steps will be. I’ve played my part, I’ve done my best so far,’ he commented.
Mondlane remains outside Mozambique, which he justified with appeals from ‘thousands of Mozambicans’, who told him that he was ‘more useful to the country by being alive’, refusing to reveal his location.
‘I’m a citizen of the world,’ he joked, claiming to be constantly “crossing borders” because he has detected “attempts to breach” his VPN (private communications network), which would allow him to be located.
The candidate also declined to reveal when he will return to the country, but expressed his ‘deep desire to return home’, and said that his plan depends on the announcement of the results by the Constitutional Council. ‘One way or another, I want to do something with a strong symbolic meaning. I want to take office on 15 January,’ he reiterated.
Asked about the role of the international community in the country’s social and political crisis, Mondlane regretted that Mozambicans are ‘left to their own devices’.
‘Portugal has made some formal pronouncements, in the sense of peace, very much on the level of political correctness,’ he said.
The European Union ‘is hesitating a little,’ he said, stating that he was ‘very angry with the African Union. I’m not satisfied. People are dying, thousands are in prison, people are being kidnapped. It’s like watching television. Something more needs to be done,’ he appealed.
