Mozambique Elections: Frelimo marches in Maputo

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Mozambique Elections: Frelimo marches in Maputo

1:59 CAT | 25 Nov 2024

Photo: O País

Frelimo marched in Maputo on Saturday to celebrate its electoral victory, the secretary of the party’s youth wing (OJM) in Maputo city saying the march “deconstructs the narrative that young people did not vote for Frelimo”. On the same day ,the number of deaths in post-election protests in Mozambique rose to 67.

“[We are] deconstructing the narrative that young people did not vote for Frelimo,” said Maputo OJM secretary Laura Chavana. “As you can see from the crowd, we have young people in this march, we young people voted [for Frelimo]. This country belongs to all Mozambicans.”

According to Chavana, the objective of this march, the largest held by Frelimo in the capital since the announcement of the results of the general elections, was to “salute” the Frelimo presidential candidate Daniel Chapo, who according to the National Electoral Commission won with 70.67% of the votes, and to show solidarity with the “brothers who fell in the post-election protests” of last month.

“It is a peaceful march, we are not violating anyone,” Chavana said, highlighting the “calm and serenity” of the party’s presidential candidate in this electoral process. “We cannot act on impulse.”

She also gave an assurance that Frelimo, the party in power since 1975, “is alive, as it always has been”.

67 dead in one month, says NGO

At least 67 people have died and another 210 have been shot in a month of protests contesting the results of the general elections in Mozambique, according to an update from the Mozambican non-governmental monitoring organization Plataforma Eleitoral Decide.

According to the data released this Saturday by Decide, there were also at least 1,326 arrests from October 21 to November 21 during protests in Mozambique, with an update still pending from the Mozambican Bar Association, which has been providing legal support in these cases.

Data from 1 month of demonstrations (October 21 to November 21) #MozambiqueElections #MozambiqueProtests pic.twitter.com/NpaOOfXwwD

— Plataforma_decide (@PDecide23) November 22, 2024

Presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane called for the protests to contest the awarding of victory to Daniel Chapo, but they have degenerated into clashes with the police, who have used tear gas and gunshots to disperse them.

Mozambican head of state Filipe Nyusi has invited all presidential candidates to a meeting on November 26 to “discuss the country’s situation in the post-election period”. Venâncio Mondlane and Lutero Simango have confirmed their availability, but, among other demands, want a clear agenda agreed in advance.

Source: Deutsche Welle