Mondlane seeks to remove the weapon from Mozambique’s flag and revise the Constitution

MAPUTO,  Mozambique 

Venâncio Mondlane, who leads the largest challenge to election results in Mozambique since the country’s first elections in 1994, has proposed changes to the national flag and the revision of the Constitution.

“Next year, we want a new flag in Mozambique, and in this new flag, the weapon must be removed (…) the flag represents the spirit of a people, and if there is a weapon on the flag, it means our mentality is still armed,” Mondlane said during a live broadcast on Facebook.

This proposal comes amidst the most significant contestation of election results in Mozambique since the first elections in 1994. The protests, led by Mondlane from abroad, have thrown the streets into chaos, resulting in nearly 300 deaths due to clashes between police and demonstrators.

In addition to removing the weapon from the Mozambican flag by January 10, with an “open competition” for proposals, Mondlane advocates for a revision of the Constitution and the election of district and neighborhood leaders locally in all provinces of the country.

“All institutions, from administrations to provincial governments, are suspended, and the people will choose their true leaders (…). We also want a new Constitution, with the draft revision to be presented on January 15,” Mondlane declared.

Mondlane also called for the renaming of avenues in Mozambique that bear “communist” names, citing as examples Kim Il-Sung and Mao Zedong Avenues located in central Maputo.

“The names of avenues should not be decided by central governments. The names of streets and avenues should be chosen by the people who live in those neighborhoods,” the politician said, suggesting names “important to Mozambique’s history,” such as Samora Machel, the country’s first President; Azagaia, a socially conscious rapper who passed away last year; Alice Mabota, an activist who died in 2023; or Afonso Dhlakama, a historic opposition leader who passed away in 2018.

On Monday, the Constitutional Council of Mozambique declared Daniel Chapo, the candidate supported by the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), as the winner of the presidential election with 65.17% of the votes, succeeding Filipe Nyusi. Frelimo also retained its parliamentary majority in the October 9 general elections.

This announcement triggered chaos nationwide, with pro-Venâncio Mondlane protesters—who, according to the Constitutional Council, received only 24% of the votes—taking to the streets with barricades, looting, and clashes with the police, who have been firing shots to attempt to disperse the demonstrators.

Mondlane promised to announce new protests in the coming days, but today, in his live broadcast on Facebook, he mentioned that he is considering allowing a “five-day tolerance” period for the entry of international humanitarian and investigative organizations to assess alleged human rights abuses by the police in Mozambique, soliciting the opinions of Mozambicans via email.

The politician also stated that a group of former Presidents from Southern African countries has expressed interest in mediating negotiations, accusing the ruling party of being uninterested in discussions.

Since October 21, at least 277 people have died in post-election protests in Mozambique, half of whom died after the results were announced on Monday, according to the latest tally by the Decide electoral platform.