Mozambique awaits election results as the ruling party looks to extend its reign past 50 years

MAPUTO, Mozambique — Mozambicans were waiting for early election results Thursday, a day after a vote for a new president passed off peacefully despite opposition candidates claiming fraud and manipulation by the longtime ruling party.

Vote-counting began straight after polls closed Wednesday evening, and some preliminary results from the 11 provinces could be released within days. The final results must be delivered to the Constitutional Council within 15 days to be ratified and formally declared.

The governing Front for the Liberation of Mozambique, or Frelimo, has been in power for 49 years since Mozambique gained independence from colonial ruler Portugal in 1975, although the country only held its first elections in 1994 because of a 15-year civil war following independence.

Frelimo's Daniel Chapo is favored to succeed President Filipe Nyusi, who has served a maximum two terms. Chapo, who is 47, is a new face for Frelimo, having emerged as the surprise winner of an internal vote in May to be its presidential candidate.

Chapo's strongest challenge could come from independent Venancio Mondlane, say analysts. He is a newcomer to national politics who has struck a chord with young people who are disaffected with unemployment and government corruption in the southern Africa nation of some 33 million people.

Mondlane and the two other challengers for president all raised concerns over the voting process on Wednesday, saying among other things that ballot boxes had been unsealed before voting ended and some of their parties’ delegates were denied accreditation to monitor voting.

Frelimo has often been accused of rigging elections. Last year, after it swept local elections, violent unrest erupted that was put down by security forces.

“Young people are not going to take another fraud,” Mondlane said.

The head of the European Union’s observer delegation said Thursday that no major problems were reported on voting day, although it was too early to draw any conclusions. Mozambican election monitoring group Sala da Paz also said it was troubling that some party delegates were denied access to polling stations and were unable to monitor voting.

Mozambique, which boasts a long coastline of tropical beaches on the Indian Ocean, has abundant natural resources and is a crucial gateway for the region. However, it has been hampered by instability and hit by cyclones and other climate shocks.

It is fighting a jihadi insurgency in the northern province of Cabo Delgado that has left hundreds of thousands of people displaced and halted new multibillion-dollar natural gas projects seen as crucial to the economy. Voting went ahead in Cabo Delgado despite the security challenges.

Frelimo is a leftist former liberation movement that established a one-party state after independence. It fought a bloody civil war against rebel group Renamo, which became the main opposition after a 1992 peace deal. The peace between Frelimo and Renamo has been fragile, with more fighting breaking out in 2013 and another deal signed in 2019.

The four candidates for president are Chapo, Mondlane, Renamo's Ossufo Momade and Lutero Simango of the small Mozambique Democratic Movement party. Mozambicans voted for president, the makeup of Parliament and the provincial governors in the one-day election.