Daniel Chapo has been proclaimed the winner of Mozambique’s presidential election, the Constitutional Council (CC) announced on Monday. Chapo, the candidate for the ruling Frelimo party, secured 65.17% of the vote, according to the CC, the body responsible for constitutional and electoral matters. This figure is lower than the 70.67% initially announced by the National Electoral Commission (CNE) on 24 October.
Chapo will succeed current President Filipe Nyusi, becoming the fifth president of the Republic of Mozambique.
The CC also released the final results for other candidates. Venancio Mondlane, representing the extra-parliamentary Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos), received 24.19% of the vote, an increase from the 20.32% announced by the CNE. Ossufo Momade of the main opposition party Renamo garnered 6.62%, while Lutero Simango, president of the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), secured 4.02%.
Lucia Ribeiro, president of the CC, stated that while some irregularities were identified during the electoral process, these were not sufficient to invalidate the overall results.
In addition to the presidential results, the CC confirmed that Frelimo also won an absolute majority in the parliamentary elections, securing 171 of the 250 seats in the Assembly of the Republic. Podemos followed with 43 seats, Renamo secured 28 seats, and the MDM obtained 8 seats.
Reports indicate that more than 100 civilians have died in the post-election unrest, and hundreds have been injured.
