Cabeça de lista da Renamo para a Cidade de Maputo, Venâncio Mondlane, preside uma passeata na Cidade de Maputo em contestação dos resultados eleitorais divulgadas pela CNE. Foto de Santos Vilanculos
Maputo, 3 Nov (AIM) – Mozambique’s main opposition party, Renamo, on Thursday resumed its marches through the streets of Maputo, in protest against the preliminary municipal election results, which it regards as fraudulent.
This time, unlike the violent scenes of last Friday, there were no clashes between the marchers and the police. Starting from Youth Square, in the neighbourhood of Magoanine, the protesters, led by the Renamo candidate for mayor of Maputo, Venancio Mondlane, made their way to one of the city’s main bus terminals.
Mondlane told reporters he is optimistic that the Constitutional Council, the country’s highest body in matters of constitutional and electoral law, will uphold Renamo’s appeal against the results in Maputo city.
“So far, the Constitutional Council has had an attitude which gives us some hope”, said Mondlane. “It is true that some of its decisions are debatable from the technical point of view, but I think we can still place our hope with the Constitutional Council”.
The National Elections Commission (CNE) had awarded victory in the Maputo city municipality to the ruling Frelimo Party – but Mondlane stressed that Renamo has the original, genuine results sheets (“editais”) from the city’s polling stations, which prove that Renamo won the election.
Cited by the independent television station STV, he said “it’s Renamo that has the editais. The city elections commission did not present the editais, and nor did Frelimo, even in court”.
He did not believe that anyone other than Renamo would be able to show editais and polling station minutes to the Constitutional Council. With nothing to contradict the editais in Renamo’s possession, Renamo’s appeal against the results ought to be approved, he declared.
Mondlane also accused the police of trying to frame Renamo supporters, by presenting piles of used tyres which participants in last Friday’s Renamo march would supposedly have used in burning barricades.
“The police invented proof”, he accused. “They collected tyres from the rubbish dump, from Xiquelene (an informal market), from the streets, from various places, to incriminate young people, because they had no evidence”.
“Just as the electoral bodies invented results, and falsified and adulterated editais, so the police invented proof”, he said. “It’s not all the police, just some officers in the service of the ruling party”.
If the police really were trying to frame the youths they snatched from Friday’s demonstration, the attempt came to nothing. On Tuesday, Maputo courts ordered the release of all 32 detainees.
(AIM)
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