Mozambique’s highest court on Monday upheld the results of a contested presidential election in which the candidate from the governing party was declared the winner despite allegations of widespread irregularities at the polls and deadly protests across the country over the past several months.
The ruling cleared the way for Daniel Chapo, the candidate for Frelimo, the party that has governed the southern African nation since its independence from Portugal in 1975, to become president.
The top opposition candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, had vowed to dispute the result and called on Mozambicans to protest against what he sees as the governing party clinging to power through fraud.
Frelimo officials have denied any wrongdoing. But several independent election observers issued reports after the voting in October stating that they had witnessed irregularities in the process including “unjustified alteration of election results,” according to a statement by the European Union’s observer mission.
Mozambique, a country of 33 million people, is one of the poorest in the world and has also been coping with the effects of the climate crisis. Cyclone Chido, which struck last week, killed at least 94 in the country’s north.
That region is also struggling to contain an Islamic State-backed insurgency. The conflict has led lucrative natural gas projects to be placed on hold — projects that could be a boon amid an economic crisis that has left many jobless.
The electoral commission in October declared that Mr. Chapo won 71 percent of the vote compared with 20 percent for Mr. Mondlane. Two other candidates split the rest of the vote.
The court on Monday largely upheld the result, but adjusted Mr. Chapo’s final vote tally down slightly, to 65 percent, and increased Mr. Mondlane’s share to 24 percent. The court said it had adjusted the vote totals after a recount based on submissions from the parties.
Speaking from the court in the capital, Maputo, where the ruling was announced, Veronica Macamo, a representative of Frelimo, said that all Mozambicans should unite and move forward now.
“We must respect the rules set for elections and the results,” she said.
The capital, which is typically bustling ahead of Christmas, was quiet before the ruling on Monday, with shops closed, public transportation out of service and some roads blocked by the police.
Yet not long after the court issued its decision, residents began burning tires and blocking roads around Maputo, according to videos posted on Telegram by Zitamar, a news outlet that covers Mozambique.
Immediately after the election, Mr. Mondlane, who ran as an independent candidate supported by a small party, declared himself the winner and called on supporters to take to the streets.
Tensions spiked in October as Mr. Mondlane was preparing to challenge the results in court when two of his aides were fatally shot in a hail of bullets while riding in a car in Maputo.
Weeks of demonstrations since have resulted in violent confrontations between the police and protesters. At least 110 people have been killed, according to a Mozambican election monitoring organization.
The current president, Felipe Nyusi, has tried unsuccessfully to mediate a resolution to the political crisis with Mr. Mondlane. Mr. Nyusi said in a nationally televised address for Christmas and New Year’s last week that he had spoken by phone with Mr. Mondlane, and that while the discussion was calm, he did not offer specifics.
Mr. Nyusi assured Mozambicans that he would leave office as scheduled next month, when Mr. Chapo is set to take over.
But Mr. Mondlane has shown no signs of relenting in his challenge to the results. He posted a testament on his Facebook page last week that started by saying, “If these are my last words.”
Mr. Mondlane, who is in self-imposed exile, saying he has faced threats, lamented that his situation paled compared to Mozambicans who have been killed in the chaos following the election.
“Even if it is my last word, I will shout: WE WANT TRUTH.”
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