The top electoral court in Mozambique has largely upheld the results of the country's disputed October elections, re-affirming the governing Frelimo party's decades-long hold on power, and leading to fears of more violence in a country already rocked by weeks of deadly protests.
In a ruling on Monday, judges of the Constitutional Council named Daniel Chapo as the next president, confirming that the Frelimo candidate won 65 percent of the vote, as opposed to a previously announced 70 percent. It also awarded main challenger Venancio Mondlane four more points in the polls, giving him a total 24 percent share.
That ruling did little to appease supporters of the firebrand opposition presidential candidate who claims he won the elections. Mondlane had threatened "chaos" before the court's announcement, and urged his supporters to "shut down" the country this week if Frelimo's win was confirmed.
The country of 34 million people has been on edge since the October 9 general elections. Mondlane's supporters, mostly hundreds of thousands of young people, have since taken to the streets, and have met gunfire from security forces.
At least 110 people had died across the country by Monday, according to rights group Amnesty International. Other monitoring groups have put the death toll at up to 130.
Here's what to know about what happened in the elections; why the vote was controversial; and what may happen next:
Why were the elections controversial?The October elections saw the little-known Chapo, candidate of the governing Frelimo (Mozambique Liberation Front), win by a massive landslide. Frelimo also improved its parliament majority in the 250-seat cabinet.
However, opposition candidate Mondlane, and his allied party, Podemos (Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique), who have strong support among Mozambique's youth population, claim the results were rigged. The country has one of the youngest populations in the world with 56 percent of the population aged 19 and below.
Mondlane, who was Chapo's closest challenger among three other candidates, won 24 percent of the vote, judges said on Monday. The politician, however, claims that he won 53 percent, going by his party's tally. Podemos also claims to have won 138 seats in parliament, as opposed to the 31 seats initially announced by the National Election Commission (CNE).
Frelimo has governed Mozambique since the country's independence from Portugal in 1975. The party's leaders, including outgoing President Filipe Nyusi, fought in the country's liberation war, meaning that Frelimo was highly revered by most older members of the population who experienced the war.
However, the party has become increasingly unpopular among young people. It's part of a larger trend in Southern Africa where youth, who do not have a sense of nostalgia around independence movements-turned-establishment parties, are more critical of their governments and more ready to vote them out. Botswana, South Africa, and Namibia all recorded total or partial opposition leads in general elections this year.
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In Mozambique, high levels of unemployment, general economic decline, and an armed conflict in the north have sullied Frelimo's legacy. Northern Mozambique is in the grips of an insecurity crisis due to armed attacks on civilians by the al-Shabab armed group.
Meanwhile, extreme weather events such as storms have also hit the same region, causing destruction, disease, and hunger. In the latest disaster on December 15, Cyclone Chido made landfall in Cabo Delgado, Niassa, and Nampula provinces, killing at least 94 people.
Protesters hold a mock coffin with the face of Frelimo's Daniel Chapo, who will succeed President Filipe Nyusi to become Mozambique's fifth president, during a 'national shutdown' against the election outcome, at Luis Cabral township in Maputo, Mozambique, November 7, 2024 [Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters]What prompted the violent protests?
Following the October 9 elections – even before the results were officially announced – Mondlane cried foul, accusing Frelimo and the CNE of rigging the polls and intimidating Podemos supporters. The opposition politician called for strikes and mass protests on the streets, as the vote tally exercise dragged on and it was clear that Frelimo had won.
Like Mondlane, the two other presidential candidates in the elections also denounced the unofficial results. Ossufo Momade of the Renamo (Mozambican National Resistance) party, the biggest opposition party before now, won 6 percent of the vote. A fourth candidate, Lutre Simango of the MDM (Democratic Movement of Mozambique), who won 3 percent of the vote, also alleged fraud.
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In addition, the country's Association of Catholic Bishops also rejected the election results, alleging cases of ballot stuffing and forged result sheets. Similarly, poll observers from the European Union said they noted "unjustified alteration" of results at some polling stations.
Shortly before the demonstrations began on October 19, gunmen killed two senior Podemos leaders: lawyer Elvino Dias, who was planning to file a legal challenge, and parliamentary candidate Paulo Guambe. Mondlane claimed the state security forces were responsible, further fuelling Podemos supporters' anger. Authorities denied the allegations, and Frelimo's Chapo called for an investigation into the killings.
Unappeased, thousands in Maputo and other cities poured out in support of Podemos. Protesters targeted police stations and damaged Frelimo billboards and other government buildings. Security officials deployed to quell the protests used live gunfire on demonstrators, killing dozens. On October 21, Podemos legally challenged the vote at the Constitutional Council, the highest body that can rule on electoral law.
On October 24, the electoral commission declared the official results, prompting larger and more violent demonstrations, which have since erupted sporadically. Protesters have set fires and barricaded roads in Maputo and other cities. The government in November deployed soldiers to help keep order, but demonstrators have continued to gather intermittently.
It's some of the worst bouts of violence Mozambique has experienced in more than 30 years. Many compare the unrest to when the country was in the grips of a civil war between Frelimo and Renamo between 1977 and 1992.
