At least 110 people have died in post-election demonstrations in Mozambique since 21 October, according to figures from local NGO Plataforma Eleitoral Decide, cited by the news website Club of Mozambique.
Protests erupted on 21 October, when government forces fired multiple rounds of tear gas at presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, his supporters and journalists. The group had assembled for a press conference on the brutal killing of two close Mondlane associates who were challenging the results of the presidential election held on 9 October.
Mondlane, who has been issuing online directives to his followers from exile, has been calling for fresh waves of protest in “all the neighbourhoods of Mozambique”.
[See more: Mozambique’s president says widespread protests are an ‘attack’ on the state]
The upheaval has caused severe disruption in Mozambique, from limiting distribution of the country’s main newspaper to disrupting mass transit to shutting down a critical border crossing with South Africa. The government’s draconian response – shutting down the internet, deploying tear gas, rubber bullets, live rounds, and armoured vehicles – has fuelled tensions further.
While the National Electoral Commission (CNE) called the election for ruling Frelimo party candidate Daniel Chapo back on 24 October, observers in Mozambique and overseas have raised serious concerns about fraud.
The result has yet to be validated and proclaimed by the Constitutional Council. The Mais Integridade federation of NGOs has also refused to cooperate with the council, sharing with DW Africa numerous examples of ballot stuffing and falsifying of results.
