Mozambique opposition leader heads for showdown over vote outcome – BNN Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) — Mozambique opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane is hurtling toward a confrontation with the state, as he called for street protests after his legal adviser was shot dead.

He had already asked the attorney general to arrest him after the latter warned him against any premature assertion of victory in the October 9 elections and against any incitement to unrest. Last weekend’s assassination of his lawyer, Elvino Dias, by unknown gunmen fueled an already tense standoff.

The fiery preacher and former lawmaker on Monday urged his supporters to paralyze the southeast African country by joining a nationwide protest against what he described as a fraudulent vote. Mondlane warned police on Saturday not to try to block his planned march from the scene of the murder in the capital, Maputo.

Preliminary official results show that ruling party candidate Daniel Chapo is leading the presidential race and Mondlane is in second place. Several observer organizations have raised questions about the credibility of the electoral process.

Police and military units have already positioned themselves around Maputo in anticipation of the planned demonstration. Mozambique has a young population with limited opportunities and little to lose – the average age is 17 and about three in four people live on less than $2.15 a day – but Human Rights Watch has warned that authorities have tendency to resort to lethal force and arbitrariness. arrests to quell the unrest.

Even if there is a risk of violent clashes, it is unlikely that the protests will be large enough to cancel the elections or force a recount, according to André Thomashausen, professor emeritus of international law who helped write the 1992 peace agreement that ended 16 years of independence in Mozambique. civil war.

An engineer by profession, Mondlane describes himself as a reluctant politician and pastor, and is committed to ensuring that Mozambicans reap more benefits from the gas-rich country’s natural resources. He has drawn large crowds, mainly young people, to his campaign rallies and his YouTube channel has nearly 150,000 subscribers.

“He has fantastic mastery and control over the powers of social media. He knows how to use them,” Thomashausen said. “He can even rap.”

Scenes of Mondlane leading a procession through streets packed with his supporters in the northern town of Nampula last week were broadcast live when the sound of gunfire interrupted the event. Amnesty International said police fired into the crowd, injuring at least one person.

“Mozambican police must respect the right of citizens to peacefully assemble,” Khanyo Farise, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for Eastern and Southern Africa, said on Friday. “Firing live ammunition at a peaceful political rally and arbitrarily detaining opposition supporters constitutes a flagrant violation of Mozambican and international human rights law. »

Public Order

Defense and security forces will take all measures to prevent threats to public order, said police spokesperson Orlando Mudumane. Police also warned citizens to refrain from participating in illegal protests.

Mondlane, 50, better known as VM7 and an independent candidate backed by the small Podemos party, said a parallel vote count by his campaign showed he had won an “unequivocal” victory and that the tally official was fraudulent.

Provisional results published by state-owned newspaper Noticias show that Chapo – the candidate of the Mozambique Liberation Front, which has ruled the country since independence almost fifty years ago – had more than 70% support. Mondlane held less than 20%.

Electoral authorities, who have until October 24 to announce final results, said aggrieved parties had the right to appeal the result in court.

–With assistance from Borges Nhamire and Paul Richardson.

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