Renamo expects the Constitutional Council (CC) to declare Frelimo the winner of the October 9 general elections, despite factors indicating that the vote should be annulled.
According to Renamo election representative Glória Salvador, Mozambique’s electoral history supports the legitimization of fraudulent results, and is always in Frelimo’s favour.
She said that the CC had handed over four municipalities to Renamo when, in fact, her party had won the right to govern more than 24 local authorities.
When asked how she saw the CC’s intention to restore electoral credibility, she said: “I can hardly give you a satisfactory answer. We have been seeing the same history since 1994.”
Speaking to the journalist after a meeting with CC president Lúcia Ribeiro, broadcast live on Constitutional Council’s YouTube channel, Salvador said that, given the irregularities recorded, the prudent thing to do would be to annul the elections.
“We have already submitted appeals to this house. There is evidence that these elections should be annulled,” she said, giving the example of the absence of party representatives at several polling stations. “The law requires annulment of elections when these situations occur.”
The main topic of discussion at the meeting with the CC was the progress of the processes that will culminate in the validation of the results.
For Renamo, the work underway at the CC should have been done at the grassroots level, in the District Election Commissions or at the National Elections Commission (CNE). “Unfortunately, these bodies let everything go through,” she said. “It is not normal for the CC to be able to carry out a recount.”
