Mozambique’s Ruling Party Wins Vote Tainted by Fraud Claims

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(Bloomberg) — Mozambique’s ruling party’s candidate was declared the runaway winner in the presidential election as tensions over fraud allegations put the Southeast African nation on edge and sent its bonds plummeting.

The Electoral Commission said on Thursday that Daniel Chapo received 70.67% of the votes, while his party won 195 seats out of 250 in Parliament. Venancio Mondlane, the charismatic independent candidate who dismissed the process as fraudulent and called for a two-day national lockdown, came in second place with 20.32%.

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The results were announced by Carlos Matseni, head of the National Electoral Commission, in the capital, Maputo.

The ruling Mozambique Liberation Front chose Chapo, 47, who studied law and is the former governor of the central province of Inhambane but never served in the national government, as its surprise candidate in May.

His win signals political continuity for Mozambique as TotalEnergies SE prepares to restart a $20 billion liquefied natural gas project that rebel attacks forced it to halt in early 2021, although allegations of voter fraud and Mondelein’s rejection of preliminary results raise the risk of civil unrest. .

Tensions escalated after unidentified gunmen killed the opposition leader’s legal advisor and another opposition official over the weekend. Mondlane revealed on Wednesday that he left his home after receiving intelligence that he was the target of an assassination and was at an undisclosed location in Maputo. He did not provide evidence.

Earlier this week, the opposition leader said there was a “revolutionary atmosphere” in Mozambique and urged his supporters to demonstrate peacefully in the streets. The police warned citizens against participating in illegal protests.

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Mozambique’s $900 bond due in 2031 fell the most in more than two years. It fell 2.5 percent to 83.75 cents on the dollar, making it the worst performer in emerging markets on Thursday.

“Electoral turmoil in Mozambique can only mean one thing for the country’s planned gas power infrastructure: delay,” said Florence Schmidt, European energy strategist at Rabobank. “The restart of the TotalEnergies Mozambique LNG project hinges on a smooth presidential transition.”

European Union observers and others who monitored the vote have cited irregularities, including indications of ballot box stuffing and “unjustified alteration” of the results. They complained that employees were prevented from monitoring the counting process in some regions, as well as at the national level.

A national group of Catholic bishops said there was “massive fraud” and that the lowest voter turnout in Mozambique’s history indicated that people had lost confidence in the electoral process. The High Electoral Commission said that the affected parties must go to the courts and provide evidence of violations.

The southeast African country, where the average lifespan is about 17 years, is one of the world’s least developed countries. Nearly three-quarters of its 35 million people live on less than $2.15 a day, according to the World Bank. Government data shows that one in three young people is neither working nor studying.

– With assistance from Mpho Hlakodi.

(Updates with parliamentary seats in the second paragraph)

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