Maputo — Mozambican presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane has threatened that the country will descend into chaos if the Constitutional Council, the country's highest body in matters of electoral law, does not declare that he won the 9 October presidential election.
Speaking in a live broadcast transmitted from an undisclosed location via his Facebook page, Mondlane declared that it was up to the Chairperson of the Council, Lucia Ribeiro, to decided whether the country advances to peace or slips into chaos.
He called for a one day general strike next Monday, 23 December, which he assumes will be the day when the Council announces the definitive results from the October elections. Mondlane demanded that all activities, except the health service, should come to a standstill to hear the Constitutional Council deliver its verdict.
Mondlane insists that he won the presidential elections, and that the main party which supported his presidential bid, Podemos, won a comfortable majority in parliament. But he has not presented any evidence to support these claims.
Mondlane says that he has copies of the polling station result sheets that prove his victory, but he has not published any of them.
He continues to insist that he will take office as the new President of the Republic on 15 January. But this will only be possible if the Constitutional Council declares that he has won, which seems most unlikely.
For the preliminary results, announced by the National Elections Commission (CNE) on 24 October, claimed that the ruling Frelimo Party and its presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo, won, with over 70 per cent of the vote. Mondlane and his supporters claim that the CNE result is "massively fraudulent'.
Unless he is proclaimed the winner, Mondlane warned, a new wave of protests, which he calls "Turbo V8', will be unleashed. He gave no details, but claimed that responsibility for any future rioting would lie exclusively with Ribeiro and the other six judges on the Constitutional Council.
He also demanded that, between now and 15 January, irrespective of the Constitutional Council's ruling, no tolls should be collected from any vehicles passing through the country's tollgates. Mondlane was irritated that money is still being collected from motorists using the suspension bridge over the Bay of Maputo.
He also ordered a halt to all mining operations, and declared that informal traders must be allowed to cross the border from South Africa without paying any customs duties. If these measures are implemented, they will be a body blow to the Mozambican economy, already weakened after two months of unrest.
This week, at least, motorists will enjoy a respite: Mondlane decreed that there will be no street protests this week, and no interruptions to the flow of traffic. Citizens will be allowed to work normally
Instead, Mondlane, who is also an evangelical preacher, called for a week of "mourning and prayer' for the victims of Cyclone Chido, which hit Cabo Delgado province on Saturday, and for the 130 people killed by the police in the recent violent clashes.
Between Thursday and Sunday, he urged, between 13.00 and 13.15, people should stop whatever they are doing and pray and sing the national anthem.
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Contrary to Mondlane's belief, there is no deadline for the Constitutional Council to validate the October elections. 23 December is certainly a possible date, but the Council could easily postpone its declaration by a few days.
The authorities have not yet responded to any of Mondlane's threats. He has been out of the country for the past two months, because he fears that he will be arrested if he sets foot in Mozambique.
But last week, the President of the Supreme Court, Adelino Muchanga, told reporters that no court in the country has issued a warrant for Mondlane's arrest. He could return to Mozambique at any time and would not be thrown immediately into jail.
