Mozambique’s Constitutional Council, the highest court in the country, affirmed on Monday the contentious election results in October that allowed the ruling Frelimo party to maintain its control for over fifty years.
The seven-judge panel determined that the ruling party’s presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo, received 65 per cent of the votes, lowering the initial tally to nearly 71 per cent. These final results emerged after two months of protests across the country, which resulted in over one hundred fatalities in the southern African nation.
The opposition leader, Venancio Mondlane, who finished second, claimed that the election had been taken from him. Multiple international monitoring groups have also reported various irregularities during the process.
Mondlane, currently in exile due to safety concerns, has pledged to incite “a popular uprising” if the Constitutional Council ratifies Chapo’s win.
“Difficult days will come,” said the 50-year-old, who resonates with discontented younger voters in a nation of 33 million plagued by significant poverty despite its rich resources.
Tension was escalating in Maputo’s capital before the court’s decision, leading many businesses to close. Police blocked major roads to the city centre, and access to the presidential palace and the Constitutional Council office was restricted.
Monday’s outcome positions Chapo, a 47-year-old former provincial governor, to succeed President Filipe Nysui, whose second term concludes on January 15.
With limited political and governmental experience, Chapo would be the first president of Mozambique born after the country gained independence and the first not to have been a Frelimo fighter. The party has maintained its rule over the nation since achieving independence from Portugal in 1975.
