Mozambique's Constitutional Council Confirms FRELIMO's Victory
Mozambique’s Constitutional Council on Monday, December 23, confirmed the governing party FRELIMO’s victory in the October 9 election, reported BBC.
However, the Constitutional Council revised FRELIMO presidential candidate Daniel Chapo’s margin of victory downwards.
Initial results in October indicated that Chapo gained a 71% share of the vote to Venâncio Mondlane’s 20%. The court has now ruled that Chapo won 65% to Mondlane’s 24%.
Protests erupted when the preliminary results were announced. Mondlane, who came second, has been calling on his supporters since the election to demonstrate against what he claimed was a rigged vote.
The electoral commission denied his allegation that the poll was rigged in favour of FRELIMO, which has been in power since independence 49 years ago.
International election observers have noted irregularities during the counting process, pointing to doctored numbers.
The weeks-long demonstrations have led to violent encounters with the police, resulting in at least 110 deaths, according to local monitoring group Plataforma Decide.
Mondlane has been in talks with the outgoing President, Filipe Nyusi, but the outcome of these talks remains unclear.
The Constitutional Council’s Monday ruling is likely to trigger further protests in the Southern African country of close to 35 million people.
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