Mozambique Constitutional Council rejects presidential candidate’s bid to challenge similar opposition party symbol News
Alfredo Jr./VOA Português, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Mozambique Constitutional Council rejects presidential candidate’s bid to challenge similar opposition party symbol

The Constitutional Council in Mozambique on Saturday rejected an appeal filed by Ossufo Momade, the presidential candidate of the Renamo Party. Momade had challenged the electoral symbol, a pigeon, used by the Democratic Alliance Coalition (CAD) and its presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane.

Momade contended that CAD’s symbol of a pigeon could be readily mistaken with Renamo’s symbol of a partridge and hence should be ruled invalid. He also said that the emblem used by CAD was more current than Renamo’s and that it must have been a ploy to obtain more votes from Renamo. This was because if people were told to vote for a bird, they would have no idea which species was meant. Momade thus urged the council to order CAD to use a new logo to avoid confusion.

However, the council dismissed the appeal on separate grounds, including the fact that Momade had not finished the nomination procedure and thus could not be considered a presidential contender. The Council stated that it could not rule on the merits of the case since it had not verified his nomination papers and other evidence.

According to the council:

From the reading of this constitutional provision which, by virtue of the provisions of paragraph 4 of article 2 of the Constitution, prevails over any infra-constitutional norm, it follows that candidacies for the position of President of the Republic, in addition to formal requirements, are substantially and solely supported by a minimum number of ten thousand voting citizens, duly identified. This fundamental requirement results from the fact that the President of the Republic exercises the moderating function in the National Order, guarantor of the constitutional and institutional order of the State.

This rejection comes after Renamo banned Mondlane and his followers from using Renamo insignia during the October elections. Mondlane was a Renamo candidate for Maputo mayor last year but did not win the election. He later proclaimed his intention to run for President of Renamo, however he was also denied this position. As a result, Mondlane announced his presidential campaign as an independent, raising concerns that voters would mistake him for Renamo’s official candidate. Mondlane then moved to CAD, an organization founded by the late human rights activist Alice Mabote in 2019. This party’s symbol has been a pigeon, which contradicts Momade’s claim that it was a relatively recent symbol. Other political parties, such as the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), utilize birds (cockerels) as their symbols.

On Monday, the Constitutional Council validated the legality of four presidential nominees. Momade and Mondlane are among the officially confirmed candidates.

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