General Election, 9 October 2024

Mozambique’s presidential, legislative and provincial elections took place on 9 October 2024. The president is elected by popular vote, after which the president appoints the prime minister. A unicameral parliament, the Assembly of the Republic’s 250 members are elected by proportional representation (Freedom House 2024). The election management bodies (EMBs) in Mozambique are the National Elections Commission, CNE, and the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration, STAE (EU 2024a). Voting in Mozambique is voluntary (ACE n.d.). 

Opposition political parties and civil society organizations expressed distrust in the ability of the EMBs to perform electoral duties independently (EU 2024a). The president of the CNE acknowledged  external “interference” in the process. There were allegations of authorities delaying registration particularly in opposition areas (IRI 2024) and of removing opposition voters from the register (Cascais 2024). Preparations for the 2024 election also saw delays to campaign funds and disbursing of the electoral budget, compounding the challenges facing smaller party campaigns and the EMBs (EU 2024a). 

The electoral laws of Mozambique do not regulate the origin of private funding and there is no ceiling for campaign financing. An uneven playing field was observed, incumbent party Frelimo the only party to successfully campaign nationwide, by spending large sums and using state resources (IRI 2024; EU  2024a). Social media was used by presidential candidates during the campaign, mostly on Facebook. The UNDP and national fact-checkers identified 66 fake accounts on Facebook and Instagram (EU  2024a). 

Communication from the CNE to the public was lacking in multiple areas. Press conferences or media interviews barely took place, and a majority of the decisions taken by the CNE could not be accessed. The electoral register was seen as unreliable by many, including the EU election observer mission (EOM). Some provinces saw electoral registers with a higher number of voters than the voting age population. 

In the weeks leading up to the election the CNE announced that its webpage had been the target of a cyber-attack, claiming to have swiftly regained control and that voter data was safe. (Club of Mozambique 2024)

When voter registration opened in March, hurricane Filipo and torrential rain caused floods in the cities of Maputo and Matola and their surrounding districts. Flood-evacuated residents were placed in schools intended aimed for use by voter registration teams (Club of Mozambique 2024). At least 96 such voter registration centres in Maputo had to close following the floods (RTP África/LUSA 2024). Hurricane damage also affected Manica province, hampering delivery of election materials to polling locations (Jequete 2024). 

The results indicated a victory for Frelimo with 195 seats, extending its almost 50-year hold on power. The party’s relatively unknown Daniel Chapo became president-elect on 71 per cent of the vote, replacing the previous two-term president. Venâncio Mondlane, the closest challenger, got 20 per cent (Kupemba and Tembe 2024). (Upholding the result in December, the Consitutional Council revised these figures to 65 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively (Lowal 2024)).

Before the results, Mondlane declared himself the real winner, claiming the election was rigged. Renamo is one of Mozambique’s main opposition parties and came in third, but with only six per cent vote share. Its appointee at the CNE, Deputy Chairperson Fernando Mazanga, disputed the result (Kupemba and Tembe 2024). Renamo had already demanded the vote count in eight districts of Zambézia to be annulled as delegates were prevented from observing the process. A Renamo candidate for governor in Zambézia, Manuel de Araújo, stated that vote counting in some cases was done under candlelight—alleging deliberate disruption to power by Frelimo—and that pre-filled ballots in favour of Frelimo were discovered (Cascais 2024).

In a post-election press statement, the EU EOM said it had noted ‘irregularities during counting and unjustified alteration of results at polling station and district level’ (EU 2024b). 

In neighbouring Zimbabwe, it was reported that thousands voters cast out-of-country ballots without a Mozambican passport (Cascais 2024); Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa later congratulated Chapo on a "resounding” victory before the results were announced. Following the announcement there were violent protests and fatalities in several towns (Kupemba and Tembe 2024).

19 October 204 two officials of the leading opposition party PODEMOS, lawyer Elvino Dias and spokesperson Paulo Guambe, were killed. Dias was regarded as an important figure in the legal preparations for challenging the results in the Constitutional Council. The killings led to Mondlane and PODEMOS calling for nationwide strikes and protests during which tear gas was fired by the police at Mondlane and his supporters as he was speaking to reporters (AP 2024b).

By the time of the Constitutional Council’s ruling confirming the results, at least 110 people had died in electoral-related violence (Lawal 2024). UNHCR has highlighted that women and girls were disproportionately vulnerable in the post-election conflict setting. The displacement of many individuals from their homes has increased exposure to gender-based violence (GBV), due to inadequate lighting, non-segregated WASH facilities, and the potential use of harmful coping strategies resulting from limited access to basic food items (UNCHR 2024).

CENI reported voter turnout as being 43 per cent (Kupemba and Tembe 2024). This is lower than the 51.41 per cent turnout recorded for 2019 (International IDEA n.d.).