Pretoria – President Cyril Ramaphosa has congratulated Mozambique President-Elect Daniel Chapo and his Frelimo party for winning the General Elections.
Responding to the preliminary results of the General Elections released by Mozambique’s National Electoral Commission (CNE), President Ramaphosa offered his “warm congratulations” to Chapo and his party.
“President Ramaphosa commends the people of Mozambique for their active and enthusiastic participation in the elections, especially women who constituted 53 percent of the voters,” Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson to the President, said on Sunday, (27 October 2024).
“Similarly, President Ramaphosa applauds the CNE for the professional way in which they conducted the elections.”
The general elections were held on 9 October 2024 and the Mozambican Constitutional Council was expected to validate and proclaim the electoral results within 14 days.
Magwenya added: “The President notes that these elections are historic since they were held 32 years following the signing of the General Peace Agreement, which brought an end to the civil war and introduced multi-party democracy in Mozambique”.
VOA reports that opposition supporters took to the streets of Mozambique’s capital late Thursday, (24 October 2024), burning tyres and blocking key roads, to protest the landslide results in favour of Chapo.
Police said 371 people were arrested in connection with the protests and skirmishes across the country.
“President Ramaphosa has also expressed concern about the ongoing post-election violence and the deaths of Messrs. Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe and other people who have lost their lives,” Magwenya said.
“President Ramaphosa conveys his deepest condolences to the Government of the Republic of Mozambique and the families of the deceased.
“President Ramaphosa reiterates the call made by various leaders in Mozambique to the law enforcement agencies to speedily investigate these incidents and bring the perpetrators to justice.”
President Ramaphosa has called for calm and restraint and urged all the disaffected parties to exhaust the established legal remedies to resolve their election grievances.
“President Ramaphosa remains committed to strengthening the historic and fraternal relations between South Africa and Mozambique as well as consolidation of peace and security to enable the country to fully realise its potential for development,” said Magwenya.
