The Office of the Attorney General of the Republic of Mozambique has dismissed the criminal case against the president of public television

The Office of the Prosecutor General (PGR) of Mozambique considered this Friday that the criminal case filed by Renamo against the president of Mozambique Television, Hélio Jonasse, accused by the main opposition party of manipulating public opinion, was unfounded.

“The facts that the head of the Renamo party list [Venâncio Mondlane] The presented materials relate to issues of ethics and professional deontology, which are under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Council for Public Communications, and cannot, at least in the terms described, entail criminal liability,” the GRR said in a statement.

This is a criminal complaint filed on November 27 in the PGR by the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) against the president of TVM and its editors, accusing them of manipulating public opinion by publishing partial results before the vote count is completed. in the municipal elections on October 11.

“The facts and provisions mentioned in the participation concern the purposes that should guide the press, the ethics and deontology of the media. (…) Thus, participation cannot be achieved in a direct and objective way; facts are harmful. to criminally protected legitimate interests and which culminated in the publication, in this case, of the dissemination of election results before the votes are counted by the competent authorities,” the GRR concludes in the note.

The sixth municipal elections, in which the Mozambican Liberation Front (which is governed by Frelimo) were declared winners in 60 of the 65 municipalities, were strongly contested by the opposition, which did not accept the official results, and civil society, which alleged “mega-fraud.”

In total, Renamo sent 14 letters against the results of the October 11 elections to various Mozambican justice authorities.

Since the results were announced by the National Electoral Commission (CNE), Renamo has held more than 50 protest marches, with some episodes culminating in clashes between party supporters and police in which some people were detained and otherwise injured.

Renamo claims victory in the country’s largest cities, including Maputo, based on a parallel count of initial protocols and notifications, but was declared winner in only four municipalities, half of what it previously had, while the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM) ) is the third parliamentary political force supporting the municipality of Beira.