Mozambique Elections: CAD to stage ‘funeral of justice’ after bar on its candidates

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Mozambique Elections: CAD to stage ‘funeral of justice’ after bar on its candidates

11:57 CAT | 07 Aug 2024

CAD demonstration in Nampula city, this Wednesday. [Photo: Integrity]

Mozambique’s Democratic Alliance Coalition (CAD), which backs the presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, is holding two demonstrations this Wednesday against the exclusion from October’s general elections of its other candidates, in a protest that it said would be a symbolic “funeral of justice”.

The first demonstration is scheduled for midday, with CAD calling on participants to “paint their hands black and hold them high wherever they are.” Then at 8 p.m. they are scheduled to gather in a local square and “light candles for five minutes” – again symbolising the “funeral of justice and democracy in Mozambique,” the coalition said.

“This time we’re not going to march: we want to avoid confusion,” Luís Mariquel, CAD’s national communications and image coordinator, told Lusa on Tuesday, referring to episodes of violence seen during some marches in the country. “It will be a super peaceful demonstration.

“Let’s be clear here that the provinces in the centre and north are simply waiting for the whistle to blow to start blowing up the country, so it’s [also] a way of containing people’s spirits,” he added.

Last Thursday, Mozambique’s Constitutional Council (CC) definitively ruled the CAD and its candidates from the legislative and provincial elections scheduled for 9 October.

In the ruling, in response to the appeal filed by the CAD, the council declares null and void a National Electoral Commission (CNE) decision of 9 May that accepted CAD’s registration for electoral purposes.

On Sunday, Mondlane called for demonstrations in the country’s streets and squares, asking his supporters to go there with their hands painted black, as a sign of the “funeral of justice and democracy”.

On Friday, the CAD accused the CC of violating the country’s constitution, arguing that the exclusion of the coalition from the October elections is the result of political persecution for its support for Mondlane’s candidacy.

“We registered and the decision was accepted and published” in the state gazette,” said Manecas Daniel, president of CAD, at a news conference in Maputo. “When they realise that Venâncio Mondlane’s candidacy is supported by the CAD, the problem begins. The problem is political persecution.”

Mozambique is holding presidential elections on 9 October, which are to take place at the same time as legislative elections and elections for governors and provincial assemblies.

Source: Lusa