Mozambique's highest court confirms Frelimo election victory

RFI
·1-min read
A demonstrator in the Mozambican capital Maputo brandishes a banner bearing the slogan: "You police become people too when you take off that uniform".

The highest court in Mozambique, the Constitutional Council, confirmed the disputed October election results that extended the Frelimo party's 50-year grip on power.

Daniel Chapo, Frelimo's presidential candidate, secured 65 percent of the vote, the seven-judge bench ruled, revising down the initial results of nearly 71 percent, announced in November by the National Electoral Commission (CNE).

Venancio Mondlane, the Podemos candidate, remained in second place with 24.19 percent of the votes (compared to around 20 percent according to the CNE results).

Ossufo Momade of Renamo obtained 6.62 percent of the votes, and Lutero Simango of the MDM secured 4 percent of the ballots.

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The Constitutional Council dismissed Podemos' request for a recount of the votes. It also rejected Renamo's and the MDM's requests for new elections.

Mondlane has repeated that the 9 October vote was stolen from him. And several international observer missions have also said there were irregularities.

Mounting tension

Tension started mounting in the capital Maputo ahead of the court decision with many businesses shut.

The main roads into the city centre were barricaded by police and access to the presidential palace and Constitutional Council office shut, the French news agency AFP reported.

Tensions grow in Mozambique as police fire tear gas at protesters

(with newswires)


Read more on RFI English

Read also:
Cyclone Chido leaves 34 dead and devastates Mozambique
Mozambique violence fuelled by historical grievances and civil war politics
Mozambique forces face UN scrutiny after military vehicle strikes protester

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