Following the presidential elections held on October 9 last year, which were accompanied by massive anti-government demonstrations, the domestic political situation in Mozambique continues to be difficult.

The balance of political forces on the eve of the elections

According to many observers, the 2024 election campaign began with the surprise nomination by the leadership of the country’s ruling FRELIMO party of Daniel Chapo, 47, formerly governor of the central province of Inhambane, as its presidential candidate.

Retiring after 8 years in office, President Filipe Nyusi who enjoys the support of the highly influential faction of former generals who led the country to independence, according to experts of International Crisis Group, made every effort to preserve and further the business and political interests of the ruling elite.

Therefore, the choice of a young presidential candidate with little political experience should be seen as a kind of compromise in the intra-party struggle for power, rather than evidence of a desire to fundamentally change the political course of the country. Maputo’s political circles believe that Chapo understands the need for reform and the democratization of the political process, but not at the expense of weakening FRELIMO’s control over the state apparatus, much less its relinquishment of power.

The opposition is on the offensive

Daniel Chapo’s main rival for the presidency was Venâncio Mondlane, who, as an independent candidate, challenged Mozambique’s current political establishment with support from the relatively small Partido Otimista pelo Desenvolvimento de Moçambique (Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique, or PODEMOS), founded by FRELIMO defectors.

He became a well-known figure, especially among young people, in the early 2000s when he was a television and radio commentator in the Mozambican media. And today, with what Al Jazeera claims is about 1.2 million followers on Facebook, he is using the platform extensively to achieve his political goals, calling for “an end to the FRELIMO regime.”

Venâncio Mondlane was previously a member of the country’s main opposition party, Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (the National Resistance of Mozambique, or RENAMO), which waged an armed struggle against FRELIMO from 1977 to 1992, and on its platform ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Maputo, the country’s capital, in 2023.

As for RENAMO, it came........

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