Tensions in Mozambique as opposition leader urges protest against election results

Police in Mozambique fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the capital, Maputo, on Thursday after the main opposition leader called for a demonstration against election results.

The southern African nation has been rocked by violence since an October 9 vote, won by the Frelimo party, which has been in power for almost 50 years.

Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who claimed the results were falsified and that he was the true winner, called for a mass protest on Thursday, telling AFP in an interview that it was a “crucial moment” for the country.

“I feel that there is a revolutionary atmosphere… which shows that we are on the verge of a unique historical and political transition in the country,” said Mondlane, speaking from an undisclosed location.

The 50-year-old former radio presenter told AFP he could not disclose his whereabouts other than to say he was not in Africa.

The Mozambique Bar Association warned that there were “conditions for a bloodbath” on Thursday, as a heavy security presence was deployed across the capital.

Several thousand people took to the streets on Thursday morning, with some being dispersed by riot police using tear gas, according to AFP reporters at the scene.

The city of more than one million people resembled a ghost town, with shops, banks, schools, and universities closed.

“Our first objective… is certainly the restoration of electoral truth,” Mondlane told AFP via Zoom late on Wednesday.

“We want the popular will expressed at the polls on October 9 to be restored.”

He said he was “waging a struggle” with a “national” and “historical purpose”.

“People have realised that it wasn’t possible to bring profound change in Mozambique without taking risks,” he said, adding that “now they have to free themselves”.

At Least 18 Killed

Using social media, Mondlane has rallied supporters onto the streets on several occasions for demonstrations that have turned violent during police crackdowns.

At least 18 people have been killed in the post-election violence, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), while a local NGO, the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD), reported a death toll of 24.

A police officer was also killed in a protest at the weekend, Defence Minister Cristovao Chume told reporters on Tuesday, warning that the army could intervene “to protect the interests of the state”.

“There is an intention to change the democratically established power,” said Chume.

President Filipe Nyusi is expected to step down early next year at the end of his two-term limit and hand over to Frelimo’s Daniel Chapo, who won the presidential election with 71 percent of the vote, according to the electoral commission.

Mondlane, who has lodged a case with the Constitutional Council requesting a ballot recount, told AFP that he was “open to a government of national unity”.

The authorities have restricted internet access across the country in an apparent effort to “suppress peaceful protests and public criticism of the government,” according to HRW.

Outside the Country

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has warned against “unnecessary or disproportionate force”, saying police should “ensure that they manage protests in line with Mozambique’s international human rights obligations”.

The Southern African Development Community has called for an extraordinary summit between November 16 and 20, in part to discuss developments in Mozambique.

Mondlane left the country last month following the unrest.
He initially said he would be at Thursday’s march, but on Wednesday he told AFP he would not return after all due to safety concerns.

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“I wanted so much to be in Maputo with my people. But unfortunately, I received more than 5,000 messages… Ninety-nine percent of those messages discouraged me from going to Maputo,” he said.
“Regrettably, I won’t be able to be there.”

AFP