Mozambique: President ‘has no intention of staying on’ despite election deadlock

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Mozambique: President ‘has no intention of staying on’ despite election deadlock

7:38 CAT | 20 Dec 2024

File photo: Frelimo

Mozambique’s president, Filipe Nyusi, pledged on Thursday to step down in January, when his successor is due to take office, reiterating that he never intended to remain in power for another term – at a time when the official results from last month’s general elections are being fiercely contested.

“I have always said that I have no intention of staying in power, much less of doing a third term, as many wanted… or even… [of] proclaiming a State of Siege or decreeing a State of Emergency to keep me in power,” declared the head of state, in an address to the nation from the Presidency of the Republic in Maputo. “Mozambicans can be confident and secure because this is not going to happen.”

On Wednesday, in a videoconference with members of the European Parliament’s Renew group (which includes Portugal’s Liberal Initiative), presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who is leading the protests against the official results from the 9 October elections in Mozambique, said that he is “deeply convinced” that Nyusi wants to find reasons to declare a state of emergency and remain in power, after a telephone call between the two politicians. He did not provide further details.

In his address to the nation on Thursday, the incumbent confirmed that he had had a “calm conversation” with Mondlane that lasted more than an hour, but said that he preferred not to give details in order to “respect stages” of the process.

“I will continue with this type of dialogue, respecting everyone’s privacy, with all responsibility and sensitivity… because I swore to respect the Constitution, the certainty that I have and that I want to make clear is that in January 2025 I leave power ,” he said. “I leave with a sense of mission accomplished, in my view.”

Since 21 October, Mozambique has been experiencing successive strikes and demonstrations to contest the officially announced results of the general elections – protests that have culminated in clashes between police and and the demonstrators, egged on by Mondlane.

The results of the elections as announced by the National Electoral Commission (CNE) handed victory, with 70.67% of the vote, to Daniel Chapo, the candidate backed by Nyusi’s own governing Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), with Mondlane in second place with 20.32%. But the latter has not recognised the results, which have yet to be validated by the Constitutional Council (CC).

At least 130 people have died in the post-election demonstrations in Mozambique since 21 October, according to a report this week by the Plataforma Decide Eleitoral, a non-governmental organisation that monitors electoral processes in Mozambique. It has also reported that 385 people have suffered gunshot wounds.

On Monday, Mondlane said that the proclamation of the results of the general elections by the CC, expected on 23 December, just 20 days before the end of the current parliament, will determine whether Mozambique “moves towards peace or chaos” in future.

“If we have electoral truth we will move towards peace; if we have electoral lies we [the proclamation of the results] will lead the country to fall into chaos,” warned Mondlane.

Source: Lusa