Mozambique Presidential Election: A 'Four-Horse' Race

According to the Constitution of Mozambique, presidential elections are held by universal suffrage. The candidate who wins more than half of the valid votes becomes President.

Four candidates in the Mozambique presidential election. (Source: herald.co.zw)

On October 9, about 17 million voters out of more than 34 million people registered and participated in the vote to choose the next president of Mozambique along with 250 members of the National Assembly and provincial councils. Incumbent President Filipe Nyusi did not participate in the election because according to the Mozambique Constitution, a president is only allowed to serve a maximum of two consecutive terms of five years each.

According to the Constitution of Mozambique, presidential elections are held by universal suffrage. The candidate who wins more than half of the valid votes becomes President. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the valid votes, the National Electoral Commission of Mozambique (CNE) must hold a second round of voting between the two candidates with the highest number of votes in the first round. In the second round of voting, the candidate who wins the highest number of valid votes is considered elected.

Mozambique's seventh presidential election comes as the African country grapples with years of Islamist insurgency in the north, while severe floods have caused extensive damage.

According to CNE, this year's race is mainly between four candidates, of which the two strongest candidates are from the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) and the Mozambique Resistance Movement (Renamo). The Frelimo party of current President Filipe Nyusi nominated Daniel Francisco Chapo (47 years old), a law professor and former governor of Inhambane province. Mr. Chapo faces the fiercest competition from Mr. Ossufo Momade, representing the Renamo party. Mr. Momade became the head of the Renamo party after Mr. Afonso Dhlakama - a former opposition leader - died in 2018.

Meanwhile, the Mozambican Democratic Movement (MDM) presented Lutero Simango – an independent candidate who broke away from Renamo – after failing to win the Maputo mayoral election in 2023. Simango’s policies on inequality and employment are very appealing to young Mozambicans.

The fourth candidate is Mr. Venacio Mondlane (50 years old), a bank employee and forestry engineer. He ran as an independent candidate under the slogan “Save Mozambique, this country is ours”, attracting the attention of the masses.

The CNE said voting will take place nationwide on October 9. The counting of votes will begin immediately and results will be announced in stages. The official results will be announced by the CNE after 15 days and then confirmed by the Constitutional Council.

According to observers, in this race, the candidate of the ruling Frelimo party, Mr. Daniel Francisco Chapo, is likely to win. Frelimo became the ruling party after Mozambique gained independence from Portugal in 1975.

Previously, in the 2019 presidential election, incumbent President Filipe Nyusi won overwhelmingly with 73% of the votes and continued his second term until now.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/bau-cu-tong-thong-mozambique-cuoc-dua-tu-ma-289543.html