Maputo, 27 Oct (AIM) – Both main candidates in the Mozambican presidential election held on 9 October, Daniel Chapo and Venancio Mondlane, say that they are willing to begin a dialogue.
According to the National Elections Commission (CNE), Chapo, the candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party, won the presidential election with over 70 per cent of the vote.
Independent candidate Venancio Mondlane dismisses the Frelimo claims as fraudulent, and insists that he is the true winner of the election. He called his supporters onto the streets to oppose the results on Monday, and again on Thursday and Friday.
Now there are signs that both men may be prepared for a dialogue to overcome the post-election tensions.
On Friday night, Frelimo spokesperson Ludmila Maguni told reporters “Our candidate has said that he is open to dialogue, but we must bear in mind that the results process is not over. These results are still going to the Constitutional Council to obtain the final position”.
“We are all waiting for the final position from the Council”, she said. The results are not definitive until validated by the Constitutional Council.
“Right now, I can’t say when a dialogue might take place”, she added, “but if it happens, I think we will all have the opportunity to follow it”.
Speaking on Saturday through a live broadcast on Facebook, Mondlane announced that he too is in favour of a dialogue. He was speaking from a hideout, believed to be across the border in South Africa.
“We want dialogue, we want to discuss what the people want”, said Mondlane – but there were pre-conditions before a dialogue could begin, and the key pre-condition was to agree on the votes that had been cast on 9 October.
“Votes are not negotiated, votes are counted”, declared Mondlane. But which votes? To date nobody has presented the key pieces of evidence, which are the results sheets (“editais”) from the more than 25,000 polling stations.
At each station the results sheet should be posted on the door or walls, and all the competing candidates and parties are entitled to copies. But to date nobody – not the election management bodies, not Frelimo and not the opposition parties – has made the editais public.
“Where are the results sheets of the Frelimo Party?”, asked Mondlane. “Where are the results sheets of the election management bodies? We have to start from there”.
Mondlane warned that, if there is no dialogue, on Monday he will announce a further stage in the mass demonstrations, which will be worse than last week’s unrest. “In the third stage of stoppages, it is expected that four million Mozambicans will go on strike”, he predicted.
Mondlane gave no details, but said that the third stage would be “much harsher and heavier”
He claimed that the police actions against unarmed demonstrators constituted “crimes against humanity”, and those responsible could be hauled before the International Criminal Court in the Hague.
He condemned the destruction of public and private property during the demonstrations, and blamed police agents who had supposedly infiltrated the demonstrators.
A new point in Mondlane’s broadcast was a threat against mobile phone masts and other assets of the mobile phone companies. From Friday afternoon to Saturday morning, all mobile internet connections went dead. There was no explanation from any of the three companies, and it was assumed that the government had ordered them to shut down the Internet.
Mondlane warned the companies that “if you again obey this type of order, the demonstrations will be reflected in your digital infrastructure throughout the country. If you violate the people’s rights, the people will also violate your rights. The people will violate your property. Do not oblige the people to resort to radical measures”.
“If you want a relation of mutual respect, if you want a civilized relationship, then respect the people, so that the people will also respect you”, Mondlane told the companies.
Only mobile internet users were affected by the shutdown. Users who access the Internet by other channels, such as Starlink or cable TV, did not suffer any shutdown.
(AIM)
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