Mozambique Elections: Mondlane to announce “painful measures” on Monday

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Mozambique Elections: Mondlane to announce “painful measures” on Monday

1:21 CAT | 11 Nov 2024

Screen grab: YouTube

Mozambican presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who does not recognise the announced results of the 9 October general elections in Mozambique, said on Friday that next Monday he will reveal the 4th phase of protest which, he assured, “will be extremely painful”.

“The fourth phase will be extremely painful, because we can see that the regime is trying to engage in a tug of war with the people. The regime wants to use force of arms against the people. Use the police force and real bullets,” said Venâncio Mondlane, adding that the number of deaths resulting from the government’s reaction to the demonstrations he called for has already reached 40.

The announcement by the National Electoral Commission (CNE) of Mozambique on October 24 of the results of the October 9 elections, which attributed victory in the presidential elections to Frelimo candidate Daniel Chapo with 70.67% of the votes, sparked a call for popular protests by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane.

According to the CNE, Mondlane came in second place, with 20.32%, but he stated that he did not recognize the results, which still have to be validated and proclaimed by the Constitutional Council, which has no deadline for this purpose and is still analysing the dispute.

After street protests that paralyzed the country on October 21, 24 and 25, Mondlane once again called for a seven-day general strike starting October 31, with nationwide protests and a demonstration culminating in Maputo on Thursday, November 7.

Venâncio Mondlane announced that the protests would continue until electoral credibility was restored.

Last Friday, Mondlane, speaking live “from uncertain whereabouts” on Facebook, said that Mozambicans must prepare themselves “because the [Mozambican] economy is going to be hit hard”.

“There will be very severe damage to the economy of Mozambique. I have to be honest, because the measures are going to be heavy and tough,” he said, scheduling the announcement of these measures and when they will be implemented for Monday November 11.

Venâncio Mondlane guaranteed that the 4th phase “will be the last of the demonstrations in Mozambique”. “We will not hesitate,” he assured.

Regarding the protests in Maputo on Thursday, Venâncio Mondlane claimed that 1.5 million people were on the streets of the capital.

He asked that only the so-called “panelaços” [pots and pans protest] continue in the evenings until this Monday.

“We have people who need medical treatment, people who need to be buried. So on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the only thing we are going to do on those days is to continue with the pan-banging demonstrations,” he argued.

“Yesterday [Thursday] was the day of the liberation of Mozambique, which would be the day that would end the third stage of the demonstrations to restore electoral truth, to save our democracy and end the dictatorship in Mozambique,” he stressed.