HARARE, November 8. /TASS/. Mozambican opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who lost the October 9 presidential election, has called for the continuation of mass protests against the announced election results. He demanded that Mozambican authorities "reveal the truth" about the elections, the Club of Mozambique news website reported.
Previously, Mozambicans expected that the protests would end on Thursday, as Mondlane had proposed holding a nationwide strike and a march on Maputo from November 1-7. However, he was unable to bring the promised 4 million people to the streets, and the opposition failed to "take control of the city." Mondlane was also absent during the rallies. Now, the opposition figure stated during a live stream on social media that his advisers convinced him not to leave his hideout in an unknown location - presumably in South Africa.
Currently, Mondlane has called for the protests to continue "until the truth about the election results is revealed," once again claiming that he and the PODEMOS opposition party won the general election. He is demanding the publication of voting protocols from the voting stations.
Previously, the President of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi, announced his readiness to engage in dialogue with the opposition and urged an end to the "hostile demonstrations."
According to the official election results, Daniel Chapo, the candidate from the ruling FRELIMO party, won the election with 70.67% of the vote, while Mondlane received 20.32%. The FRELIMO party also secured 195 out of 250 seats in the parliamentary elections. The PODEMOS bloc, which supported Mondlane, won 31 seats.
The outcome will be considered final once it is approved by the Constitutional Court, which is expected to issue its ruling in the coming days.