Mozambique’s main opposition party Renamo on Monday urged the people to join it in rejecting preliminary results of October 15 general election that showed incumbent President Filipe Nyusi taking a strong lead, reported Reuters.
Mozambicans voted in a highly contested election last Tuesday to choose a president, members of parliament and provincial leaders.
The preliminary results of two-thirds of the ballots counted show President Filipe Nyusi had secured 75% of the votes, while opposition Renamo candidate Osuffo Momade obtained 20% of the votes, much less than expected.
After a meeting of its top officials in Maputo on Monday, the opposition party said it had decided to challenge the results over allegations of registration irregularities and the intimidation of candidates and election observers.
“The above-mentioned facts … reported here constitute predicted and punishable electoral offences under the law, as well as a denial of the most elementary principles of democracy and human rights,” said Renamo president Momade.
He urged the people not to accept results of massive electoral fraud.
He said his party had been disadvantaged as the alleged murder of its members and social activists, voter register discrepancies and irregularities with the counting process.
The Southern African Development Community, African Union and other international observer missions monitoring the election said the election was generally peaceful and orderly while raising concerns about voter-registration disputes.
Notably, Renamo had launched a civil war against the Frelimo government in 1975 shortly after Mozambique gained independence from Portugal.
Last week’s general election followed signing of the peace deal between the government of Mozambique and Renamo in August which ended years of conflict in the southern African nation. The on-and-off conflict lasted over 15 years, claiming around one million lives. Several African leaders attended a ceremony for the signing of the document between Nyusi and Momade in Maputo.
