Mozambique’s opposition leader, Venâncio Mondlane, has filed an appeal with the country’s Constitutional Council, requesting the annulment of the vote in the Zimbabwean constituency due to alleged irregularities and unlawful voting. Mondlane’s lawyer, Judite Simão, stated that the appeal challenges the validity of the 9 October presidential election, supported by findings from the Southern Africa Human Rights Lawyers High Commission Mozambique.
Mondlane claims that 296,519 Zimbabweans who did not meet the necessary voting criteria participated in the election. He is seeking the vote to be declared invalid.
The Mozambican National Electoral Commission (CNE) had approved 602 polling stations across seven African nations and two European countries, registering 331,939 voters abroad for the presidential and legislative elections. However, Mondlane disputes the results, particularly the victory of Daniel Chapo, backed by the ruling Frelimo party, who received 70.67% of the vote.
Mondlane emphasized the need for electoral transparency, stating, “We want electoral truth. Whoever won, won. Votes can’t be negotiated.”
In response, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi invited all presidential candidates, including Mondlane, to a meeting. Nyusi condemned the post-election violence, which has claimed at least 30 lives, with civil society groups citing over 60 fatalities. He urged citizens to join together to resolve the country’s issues.
The African Union has expressed concern over the violence, calling for restraint from security forces and peaceful demonstrations from the public. Mondlane, however, has vowed to continue his opposition to the government, further escalating tensions.
The post-election unrest has resulted in substantial economic impacts, including blockages at the main border crossing with South Africa and business shutdowns. The government has also imposed restrictions on social media, with prolonged outages on platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.
The Constitutional Council has instructed the electoral commission to submit all election records for examination. International election observers have raised concerns over manipulation of results and other irregularities in the vote-counting process.
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