Mozambique Elections: Venâncio Mondlane says CNE ‘engineering manoeuvres’ – Watch

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Mozambique Elections: Venâncio Mondlane says CNE ‘engineering manoeuvres’ – Watch

7:10 CAT | 05 Jul 2024

Screen grab: YouTube

Mozambican presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane today accused the National Elections Commission (CNE) of “engineering manoeuvres” to reject the candidacy lists of the Democratic Alliance Coalition (CAD), which supports his presidential election bid, in the October 9 polls.

“They are trying to make the candidacy unfeasible with the argument that the coalition was asked to make up for some irregularities, creating manoeuvres, claiming that the “averbamento” [registration] of CAD should be made, which is a huge contradiction”, said Venâncio Mondlane, in statements to journalists in Maputo.

Venâncio Mondlane said that the CNE intends to reject the CAD’s candidate lists for the October 9 elections, alleging irregularities detected when registering with that body.

“There is no ‘averbamento’ of a coalition, because a coalition is the result of an agreement. These are political parties that reach an agreement to form a common front for an electoral period”, explained Mondlane, adding that the “pact” that is made in the formation of the coalition is expires after the end of the electoral cycle.

“What’s more, it doesn’t make sense to carry out the ‘averbamento’ of the CAD, because it has no legal personality and the law says that those who must ‘averbar’ [register] are the parties that are part of the collective and not the coalition”,he said, reiterating that the CNE is “violating the Constitution of the Mozambican Republic and the electoral law”.

Venâncio Mondlane also said that this is about “unconfessable desires” of some members of the CNE, but warned of a possible “popular revolt” if the candidacy of the CAD lists was rejected.

“Although they are used to humiliating the people at will, they will not accept the CAD’s candidacy being rejected for reasons that have no legal basis”, he guaranteed.

Reacting to Venâncio Mondlane’s accusations, the CNE spokesperson, Paulo Cuinica, said, in statements to Lusa, that that electoral body “is working” and has scheduled a press conference for next week to take stock of the situation of all of the political formations that submitted candidacies for the October 9 elections.

“As he [Venancio Mondlane] says, we are working with his representatives, but also on the entire process and in the next few days we will complete the analyses, and we are treating this matter of the parties equally, to remedy the irregularities, not just of the CAD” , said the CNE spokesperson.

READ: Mozambique Elections: Venâncio Mondlane promises to slim down government – Watch

Venâncio Mondlane, 50 years old, who was a candidate for the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) in the last 2023 municipal elections for the Maputo municipality, abandoned the party in which he had been a member since 2018 – and the position of deputy for which he had been elected -, after not having been allowed to run for leadership of the largest opposition party at the congress held in May.

On June 24, the Constitutional Council approved the candidacies of Daniel Chapo, supported by the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), in power, Ossufo Momade, supported by Renamo, the largest opposition party, Lutero Simango, supported by the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), third parliamentary force, and Venâncio Mondlane, supported by CAD, for the position of President of the Republic.

The presidential elections will take place simultaneously with the legislative elections and elections for governors and provincial assemblies.

The current President of the Republic and Frelimo, Filipe Nyusi, is constitutionally prevented from running again for the position, because he is currently serving his second term as head of State, after being elected in 2015 and 2019.