Mozambique Opposition Party Rejects Election Results, Claiming Election Fraud

Mozambique former President Armando Guebuza and Renamo former leader Afonso Dhlakama embrace after signing a preliminary peace-deal in 2014, ending two years of renewed violence. (Wikimedia Commons)

Mozambique’s main opposition party, the Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo), called for the Mozambique Election Commission to cancel the results of the October 15 general election. The party has accused the ruling party, the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), of voter fraud and violence, according to BBC. AfricaNews reports that 39 percent of votes from roughly 13 million registered voters have been counted as of October 21. Incumbent President Filipe Nyusi of Frelimo currently leads with 68.85 percent of votes while his main competitor, Osuffo Momade of Renamo, has secured 26.20 percent of votes. Renamo General Secretary André Magibiri released a statement calling the election "brutal and barbaric, with total violence, arbitrary arrests, ballot-box stuffing, and other irregularities," per Al Jazeera. Magibiri claimed that it did not align with the will of the electorate.

The international community saw the election as an indicator of the strength of a peace deal signed between the two parties earlier in August 2019, according to Al Jazeera. Renamo was originally a rebel opposition group started in 1976. The group fought a violent civil war with the Frelimo government, resulting in almost a million deaths, according to Britannica. Upon signing a peace treaty with Frelimo in 1992, Renamo gained status as a political party and participated in Mozambique’s elections.

However, the group still retained its armed wing, leading to renewed violent skirmishes in 2013, reports Al Jazeera. Talks regarding another peace deal began in 2016 and culminated with a recent agreement between Frelimo and Renamo. The agreement required Renamo to begin demilitarizing, with thousands of its fighters forfeiting their weapons to the government and integrating into the military and police forces. In return, the Frelimo government passed legislation offering clemency to all fighters who committed crimes in civil conflicts since 2014.

The general election between Incumbent Frelimo President Nyusi and Renamo candidate Momade took place just over two months after the passage of the peace deal. However, AfricaNews writes that both Renamo and other third parties charged Frelimo with election violence and intimidation intended to skew the vote.

AfricaNews further reports that a European Union observer mission in Mozambique observed unfair voting conditions and inappropriate use of state resources by Frelimo, along with widespread violence. The EU Observer Mission said in a statement, "an unlevel playing field was evident throughout the campaign. The ruling party dominated the campaign in all provinces and benefitted from the advantages of incumbency." The U.S. embassy also expressed "significant concerns regarding problems and irregularities" during the voting process, which "raise questions about the integrity of these procedures and their vulnerability to possible fraudulent acts," according to AfricaNews. However, the African Union observer mission in

Mozambique noted, in its statement analyzing the election, that voting was “generally calm and well administered”.

Human Rights Watch researcher Zenaida Machado has been documenting election transgressions on Twitter over the course of the past few weeks. On October 18, she posted a Tweet reporting the deaths of a Renamo Women's League leader in Tete, along with her husband. According to the Mozambique Public Integrity Center, this is the tenth election-related murder since the start of the election campaign. Machado has also consistently reported news of ballot-stuffing across the country, such as at one polling station in the city of Beira which reported 252 ballots in the box but only 158 voters.

Frelimo is widely expected to win all levels of the election: presidential, parliamentary, and provincial, as reported by Al Jazeera. The electoral commission is expected to announce the final results within 15 days of the vote. However, given the recent finalization of the Frelimo-Renamo peace agreement and Renamo’s insistence on another election in light of voter intimidation and violence claims, there are concerns about renewed violence and tensions in Mozambique.