Mozambican Judges Get Death Threats as Vote Outcome Weighed
(Bloomberg) -- Mozambique’s Constitutional Council said its judges received death threats as it considered validating the outcome of last month’s disputed election that sparked protests in which dozens of people have died.
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The threats were issued by private messages as well as posts on social media, Lúcia Ribeiro, president at the nation’s top court, said in a statement Monday, without saying who made them.
Mozambique is facing its most precarious post-election period since embracing democracy three decades ago. While the electoral commission announced the ruling Frelimo party and its presidential candidate secured more than 70% support, opposition candidate Venâncio Mondlane rejected the result and called for demonstrations that have rocked the gas-rich nation.
At least 67 people have died in post-election unrest, according to Plataforma Decide, a local observer group. Mondlane fled the country claiming to be in fear of his life, and it’s unclear whether he’ll return to attend a meeting on Tuesday that President Filipe Nyusi requested with opposition presidential candidates.
Mondlane had on Nov. 22 laid out his terms of reference for talks with Nyusi, including that various religious and civil society leaders participate. The former lawmaker and evangelical pastor also said the state must terminate judicial proceedings against him, and that he should be allowed to attend the meeting virtually.
He didn’t respond to messages on Tuesday asking whether he’ll join the talks.
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Lutero Simango and Ossufo Momade, the two other opposition presidential candidates, conditioned their attendance on the others being there. Frelimo, which has held power for the past 49 years, said its candidate, Daniel Chapo, would participate.
Ribeiro said the Constitutional Council is obliged to seek electoral truth and justice and — because its ruling cannot be appealed — it must be fair and constitutionally valid.
While the court has no concrete deadline to announce the validated results, the current legislature that took office on Jan. 12, 2020, has a five-year term. The constitution requires the new parliament to sit within 20 days of the final results announcement, Ribeiro said. That implies a Dec. 23 cut-off for the validation — the same date the council announced the 2019 election outcome.
Mondlane and Podemos, the opposition party that backed him, have challenged the vote outcome with the council. Local and international observer groups have raised concerns over election irregularities, including ballot-box stuffing and the manipulation of results.
The unrest has led to border closures, port terminal suspensions, and fears that a $20 billion liquefied natural gas project led by TotalEnergies SE in the country will face further delays.
A gas and energy investment conference scheduled for this week will now take place in February, to allow for a “secure and productive environment,” the organizers said Monday.
--With assistance from Matthew Hill.
(Updates with Mondlane’s demands from the fifth paragraph)
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