Evidence of mass vote-rigging in municipal elections has prompted public anger and infighting in the ruling party
Widespread protests followed ruling party Frente de Libertação de Moçambique’s (Frelimo) declaration of a near clean sweep in the 11 October municipal elections, despite evidence from parallel counts of clear losses in a number of key areas, including the capital Maputo. In the results announced by the Comissão Nacional de Eleições (the electoral commission – CNE) on 13 October, Frelimo was declared the winner in 64 out of 65 municipalities. There was only one opposition victory: the city of Beira in Sofala Province, which has long been a stronghold of the Movimento Democrático de Moçambique (MDM).
