Police in Mozambique have fired tear gas in the capital Maputo to disperse people protesting against the government over alleged fraud in last month’s elections.
The demonstration on Thursday was the biggest yet against the governing Frelimo party, which was declared the winner of the October 9 election, extending its 49-year rule.
Large crowds of mostly young men barricaded streets with burning tyres and waved homemade signs in support of opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who says the vote was rigged and had called for a week of protests culminating on Thursday.
As the protesters marched towards the city centre, police tried to stop them by using tear gas. President Filipe Nyusi is expected to step down early next year at the end of his two-term limit and hand over power to Frelimo’s Daniel Chapo, who won the presidential election with 71 percent of the vote, according to the National Electoral Commission.
Mondlane, who has lodged a case at the Constitutional Council to request a ballot recount, told AFP he was “open to a government of national unity”.
The authorities have restricted internet access across the country, in what Human Rights Watch calls an effort to “suppress peaceful protests and public criticism of the government”. The Southern African Development Community has called for an extraordinary summit between November 16 and November 20 in part to discuss developments in Mozambique.
Meanwhile, South Africa closed its border with Mozambique shortly after opening it on Thursday. Authorities also warned South Africans to postpone non-essential visits to the neighbouring country.
Source: Al Jezeera
