Mozambique Elections: Constitutional Council vows close scrutiny to ensure electoral truth – Watch

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Mozambique Elections: Constitutional Council vows close scrutiny to ensure electoral truth – Watch

7:00 CAT | 12 Dec 2024

Photo: Conselho Constitucional /Facebook

The president of the Mozambican Constitutional Council said on Wednesday that the body has not received any contentious appeals from candidates for the presidency, but promised to check the process “thoroughly” to ensure “electoral truth”.

“It’s useful to clarify that the Constitutional Council has not received any contentious appeals from any of the candidates for the presidency. I want to say that, on the part of the candidates for the Presidency of the Republic, we have not received any appeals in this election,” declared Lúcia Ribeiro, during a meeting with members of the Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos), which supports the candidacy of Venâncio Mondlane.

At issue are the results of the 9 October elections announced by the National Electoral Commission (CNE), which gave victory, with 70.67% of the votes, to Daniel Chapo, supported by the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), and which are being contested by Venâncio Mondlane, who has called for a series of demonstrations and stoppages.

The protests have brought chaos to the streets in various parts of the country, with at least 110 people killed and more than 300 injured as a result of clashes between police and demonstrators since 21 October, according to an updated balance released on Tuesday by the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Plataforma Eleitoral Decide.

At today’s meeting with members of the Podemos party, the Constitutional Council (CC), the final court of appeal in electoral disputes, clarified that, although it has not registered any appeals, the body is also “verifying” the presidential election.

“It’s not because we haven’t had any cases against the presidential candidates that we’re not looking. We are checking. This consists precisely of comparing the minutes and public notice of the National Electoral Commission with the minutes and public notice of the political parties. This is a meticulous process,” she emphasised, adding that it is not an “easy job”.

For the president of the Podemos party, the CC’s explanation leaves doubts about the transparency of the process, pointing out that the party he leads has submitted various documents that reveal a lack of transparency in the general elections, including the presidential elections.

“So far I have no confidence that there will be electoral truth (…). The dossier we submitted incorporates the presidential election,” said Albino Forquilha, speaking to the media at the end of the meeting.

The CNE’s announcement on 24 October of the results of the elections, in which Chapo was awarded victory in the presidential elections and, in the legislative elections, the Frelimo party, which strengthened its absolute majority, triggered popular protests, called by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane and which have degenerated into violent clashes with the police.

According to the CNE, Mondlane came second with 20.32%, but it does not recognise the results, which still have to be validated and proclaimed by the Constitutional Council, which could happen by the end of the year.