Mondlane "completely open" to dialogue to resolve post-election crisis in Mozambique
Mozambique Elections: Dozens of youths claim Renamo victory in Maputo under the rain – Watch
5:48 CAT | 16 Oct 2023
Photo: Lusa
Dozens of young supporters of the main opposition party in Mozambique gathered on Monday in the rain in Praça dos Combatentes to protest against the results of the sixth local elections in Mozambique, claiming victory for Renamo.
“I’m here to rescue Maputo. I didn’t vote for Frelimo. I voted for Renamo (…) We’re here to fight, and we’re not going to stop, even if we have to sacrifice a life to do so,” Dino Joaquim told Lusa amid dozens of supporters of that political force in the Combatentes Square, in the suburbs of the Mozambican capital.
Ignoring the rain that has been falling since the early hours in Maputo, the supporters of the main opposition party in Mozambique sang and danced, claiming an alleged victory for Renamo’s candidate in Maputo, Venâncio Mondlane.
“May the will of the people prevail. Renamo won the elections here in Maputo. That’s why we’re here, rain or shine, we’re here,” young Sebastião Melembe told Lusa, almost completely soaked.
Venâncio Mondlane arrived 20 minutes later, drawing applause even from those passing through Praça dos Combatentes.
“We’re going all the way. From the 17th, national marches will start, and they won’t stop until the final victory. I’ve received messages from young people from Beira and other parts of the country who say they’re ready to shed their blood. There are almost 500 young people who are available and are waiting for an order,” Venâncio Mondlane told his supporters from the sunroof of his car.
The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo, in power) was announced on Saturday as the winning party in the local elections in Maputo, the country’s capital, where the candidate of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo, opposition) had already proclaimed victory and has held daily marches around the city assuming this result, with the support of hundreds of people.
According to the intermediate tally presented on Saturday, the Frelimo list in Maputo city, led by Razaque Manhique, received 235,406 votes (58.78%), Renamo 134,511 votes (33.59%) and the MDM 24,365 votes (6.8%).
“Permanent death threats”
Venâncio Mondlane announced that he had lodged an appeal with the court to challenge the results, also complaining of “permanent death threats”.
READ: Mozambique: MDM says Renamo won local elections in Maputo
Venâncio Mondlane, 49, is a forestry engineer and a member of parliament. His supporters call him VM7 – the CR7 of Mozambican politics, in an allusion to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Mozambique’s sixth local elections were held in 65 municipalities on Wednesday, including 12 new municipalities which went to the polls for the first time. According to intermediate district and provincial results released by STAE in recent days for 50 municipalities, Frelimo won in 49 and MDM in Beira.
In Maputo, the candidate of the MDM, Mozambique’s second-largest opposition party, for Maputo city council, Augusto Mbazo, said today that the parallel count confirms that it was the Renamo candidate who won the capital and not Frelimo.
Renamo has called for nationwide demonstrations, starting on Tuesday, to contest the results of the vote.
READ: Mozambique: Renamo calls for national peaceful protests against local election results – Watch
Source: Lusa
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