Frelimo, Mozambique’s ruling party, won a landslide victory in recent local elections, despite an unprecedented level of popular rejection. This situation may give the erroneous impression that Mozambicans are opposed to the consolidation of democracy through regular elections. Yet liberal democracy has been established as the main strategy for building peace and political stability in the country.
Local elections that took place last October were marked by violence, intimidation and accusations of electoral fraud, leading to their partial cancellation and their resumption in some municipalities in December. Once again, we see the victory of Frelimo in all the municipalities concerned, while the opposition parties reject the results and independent observers denounce serious irregularities.
This landslide electoral victory for Frelimo was marked by an unprecedented level of popular rejection, thus giving a bad image to the ruling party and undermining the credibility of the electoral bodies and the judiciary. Moreover, this could threaten Frelimo’s internal stability less than a year before the next general elections. For the opposition Renamo party, despite its significant popular support in urban areas, these elections could prove to be a Pyrrhic victory, with visible signs of internal divisions in the run-up to the 2024 general elections.
This situation raises many questions regarding Frelimo’s apparent refusal to cede power to the opposition and consolidate peace and democracy in a country marked by post-election violence. We can also wonder why more and more Mozambicans are challenging Frelimo’s hegemony and what the implications of these pseudo-democratic elections could be for the future of the country, which so badly needs peace and democracy.
One of the causes of this situation lies in the scandalous role of the Mozambican Constitutional Court. In its ruling last November, the Constitutional Court upheld Frelimo’s victory, while being contested by the opposition and civil society due to the lack of clear justifications and general perception of control of the ruling party over the Court.
In addition, some important municipalities, where parallel vote counts by Renamo and most independent observers indicated Renamo’s victory, ultimately saw Frelimo’s victory, fueling anger and protests in major cities. cities like Maputo, Nampula and Quelimane.
Faced with this situation, civil society and opposition parties denounce these local elections as an unprecedented “mega-fraud” in Mozambique’s electoral history.. Protests took place, some violently repressed by police, sparking calls for an investigation into police brutality.
Through these events, it is necessary to question Frelimo’s desire to maintain power and consolidate peace and democracy in the country. Mozambicans will surely continue to fight for true democracy and the holding of fair and transparent elections.