Mozambique Elections: ‘Perks’ distributed by Frelimo immobilise Renamo

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Mozambique Elections: ‘Perks’ distributed by Frelimo immobilise Renamo

1:04 CAT | 03 Nov 2023

Post-election protests supported by Renamo are nothing more than “theatre”, given that the leaders of the largest opposition party “enjoy many perks which Frelimo knows how to distribute – they all have benefits”, says researcher.

João Mosca, a researcher at the Rural Observatory (OMR), also says that the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo, the country’s largest opposition party), “is perfectly manipulated by Frelimo”.

DW interviewed Mosca about the fraud allegedly orchestrated by the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) in the October 11 local elections.

Mosca.omr_.dw_ — *FILE Joao Mosca.[File photo: DW]*

Mosca gave a positive mention to the opposition parties, which in his opinion “were much more organised”. Regarding the party in power, he states that, “once again, Frelimo does not know how to interpret or does not want to know how to interpret the signs of these elections.”

DW Africa: Until recently, Frelimo was sophisticated in preparing fraud, but that seems to have changed. How big was the party’s “dirty hand” in this election?

João Mosca (JM): I don’t know if it was more sophisticated. Perhaps the previous lack of sophistication was broken due to the breadth that the small fraud or the smaller scale fraud took in these elections. Eventually, Frelimo, which is increasingly moving away from popular sentiment, did not expect such a strong support from the anti-Frelimo movement through the main opposition parties. Hence, the fraud planned in previous elections was incapable of absorbing this dimension of fraud, so the fraudulent scheme was broken by the scale and dimension of the vote against, but also because the opposition parties were much more organised in controlling the electoral lists and minutes, the behaviour of polling stations in election areas, they were more attentive and more active and intervened in a much stronger way in these elections.

DW Africa: Is Frelimo at risk of being negatively surprised by relativizing or minimising the events of these elections?

JM: Naturally, Frelimo, with these elections, with its result and with the militarising behaviour it had in the post-elections, with the demonstrations, with the type of speech , only has to lose from this. Hence, once again, Frelimo does not know how to interpret or does not want to know how to interpret the signs of these elections. Therefore, this wave of protest, especially from these young people who will be the same ones voting, they will probably lose the elections, or will not lose if there are, as before, major cases of fraud.

DW Africa: Do you see the risk of Renamo taking up arms again?

JM: No, I don’t think so. I think this is out of the question for several reasons, because the Renamo leaders are already accommodated, they have many perks that Frelimo knew how to distribute, they are well installed within Mozambican society in terms of material resources, quality of life, they have houses, cars, they have Parliament, they have salaries given by Frelimo, by Renamo itself.

DW Africa: So, does everyone know that this is nothing more than theatre?

JM: Everyone thinks this is theatre. I even proposed in the last general elections, where there were already strong cases of fraud, I spoke to people from both opposition parties, and a little jokingly, but also a little seriously, I said that what they should do was not have a seat in Parliament and let Frelimo govern as it currently governs – and has always governed individually – where the opposition, in addition to being a minority, is perfectly manipulated by Frelimo, but they didn’t do it because they all already have interests, they all have benefits, salaries, houses, cars. It’s not possible.

Source: Deutsche Welle