Opposition presidential candidate declares himself winner, promises to ‘form government with people from all parties’, Frelimo included

Photo: Miramar

Presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who on Thursday declared himself the winner of the elections for President of the Republic of Mozambique, said that he intends to form a government with people from all parties, including Frelimo, which has been in power since 1975.

“We’re going to have people from all parties, including the Frelimo [Mozambique Liberation Front] party. There are good people, there are thoughtful people, there are serious people in the Frelimo party, but they are in the middle, let’s say, of this mess,” he said early this afternoon via his social networks in a self-styled declaration to the country, lasting around 50 minutes.

Announcing that he was the winner of Wednesday’s elections in Mozambique – information that no electoral body has so far corroborated – based on the parallel counting of votes that is taking place, Mondlane assured that he intends to “work with everyone”, without a party or with a party, including the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo, the largest opposition party), from which he disaffiliated in May, and the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM, the third party represented in parliament).

He added that the Transitional Government Commission (CTG) he had set up in the meantime “will make the peaceful transition” from a “regime that lost the elections after 50 years and has to hand over power to a new government”.

“We’re going to make a government that won’t depend on party criteria. It will depend on patriotic criteria, meritocracy and commitment to their homeland and those who want to give their lives so that this country will be a better country in the future,” he insisted.

In the same statement, he emphasised: “We’re not out to persecute anyone”.

In this sense, he said that all those “who have defrauded the state” will be given two years to “regularise their situation”, provided they “freely return” those funds.

He also said that “no multinational” should be “afraid of being expelled” from Mozambique, alluding to those operating in mineral and gas extraction, but warned: “Let’s renegotiate the contracts”.

In accordance with electoral legislation, the results were tabulated at the polling station level on Wednesday night. The official tabulation at the district level took up to three days, and the provincial tabulation took up to five days after polling day.

The National Electoral Commission has a deadline of up to 15 days to announce the results, which are then validated by the Constitutional Council. The Constitutional Council has no deadline for a final proclamation and still has to analyse the appeals received.

However, Venâncio is already assuming victory and his mission: “To carry out the judgement that the people have already decreed”.

Promising to be “on the side of the people”, he warned: “The people are not prepared to once again accept fraudulent results, to spend another five years living with an illegitimate, illegal, fraudulent, cheating government.”

Quoting the founding leader of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), Jonas Savimbi (1934-2002), he added that the future of Mozambique now depends on the people.

“Your future doesn’t depend on me, Venâncio Mondlane. Your future depends on your courage. Young people, this is the time to be brave,” he asked.

Wednesday’s general elections included the seventh presidential elections — for which the current head of state, Filipe Nyusi, who has reached the constitutional limit of two terms, no longer ran — as well as the seventh legislative elections and the fourth elections for provincial assemblies and governors.

In addition to Venâncio Mondlane, Lutero Simango, supported by the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM, the third largest parliamentary force), Daniel Chapo, with the support of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo, in power since 1975), and Ossufo Momade, with the support of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo, the largest opposition party), ran for the presidency.

The vote included legislative seats (250 members) and seats for provincial assemblies and their respective provincial governors, in this case, with 794 mandates to be distributed. The CNE approved lists of 35 political parties running for parliament and 14 political parties and groups of voting citizens for the provincial assemblies.

Club of Mozambique