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Mozambique's Filipe Nyusi gets re-elected for second-term with landslide victory

Sunday October 27 2019
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Mozambique President and ruling party Frelimo presidential candidate Filipe Nyusi addresses supporters at the party's last Mozambican General Election campaign rally on October 12, 2019 in Matola, Mozambique. The president has won re-election. PHOTO | GIANLUIGI GUERCIA | AFP

By ARNALDO VIEIRA

Mozambique’s incumbent President Filipe has won re-election in a predictable landslide victory that will put him in office for a second term of another five years.

The National Election Commission (CNE) announced Nyusi,60, won the vote with an overwhelming majority of the votes.

“The ruling Frelimo won the presidential, legislative and provincial elections,” CNE Chairman Abdul Carimo said at a press conference on Sunday.

“Frelimo’s Filipe Nyusi won the presidential elections with 73 per cent followed by Renamo’s Ossufo Mamade with 21.8 per cent of the votes”.

"MDM’s Daviz Simango came third with 0.73 per cent of the votes while the fourth candidate Mário Albino garnered 0.73 per cent of the votes cast,” added Mr Carimo.

Frelimo, which has ruled since independence from Portuguese in 1975, will have 184 MPs, Renamo 60 and MDM 6 MPs in the next legislature.

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Around 13 million of Mozambique's 30 million citizens were registered to vote at more than 20,000 polling stations.

The ruling party's popularity, however, has recently taken a hit from a financial crisis linked to alleged state corruption.

The October 15 vote was the sixth presidential and parliamentary elections since 1994. 26 parties took part.

It was the first poll without the long-time opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama, who died last year.

The vote verification process took place Friday evening.

Opposition parties Renamo, Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) and civil society organisations have disputed the results citing irregularities in favour of the ruling party. 

“CNE continues not to have the real possibility of accomplishing its obligations, is not able of safeguarding a fair electoral process where the results are accepted by everyone,” Public Integrity Centre (CIP), a Mozambican NGO that observed elections said in its website.

On Monday, Renamo approved a directive reaffirming its executive decision of not accepting the vote results terming them as ''fraudulent''.

The directive deliberated: “neither accepting nor acknowledging the results of the polls held on October 15 and by consequence demanding the replacement of the electoral truth denied to the Mozambican people in virtue of the serious irregularities that stained all the process”, Renamo said in a statement.

MDM, the country’s third political force, said it will not not accept the results saying they were "fraudulent and the most violent in the country’s history."

“MDM does not accept the results that have been published as they do not reflect the will of Mozambicans.” MDM general secretary Mr José Domingos said in Beira city, Sofala province.

Last week , the UN Secretary-General António Guterres had called on Mozambicans to maintain peace during the electoral process.

“Mozambique has come a long way in its efforts to consolidate peace with the signing of the recent peace agreements. These elections are an important step in the country’s democratic process,” said Guterres.

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