Mozambique faces chaos as Frelimo's 49-yr rule, disputed polls spark row

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By Matthew Hill and Borges Nhamire

 

A wave of violence spread across Mozambique following the validation of the ruling party’s victory in October’s disputed election, resulting in the deaths of at least 89 people this week.

 

The death toll has risen to more than 200 since the unrest began on Oct. 21, according to data from Decide Platform, a local monitoring group, and local authorities. Rioters looted shops and torched police stations, while more than 1,500 prisoners escaped from a maximum security jail outside Maputo, the capital, police chief Bernardino Rafael said in a televised briefing Wednesday. About 33 people were killed during the prison breach, he said.

 

Gas-rich Mozambique’s political crisis intensified after the Constitutional Council on Dec. 23 endorsed the ruling party’s victory, extending its 49-year rule, saying irregularities in the electoral process weren’t significant enough to impact the outcome. That angered opposition supporters, triggering renewed unrest. Rising lawlessness may further delay a $20 billion energy export project led by TotalEnergies SE and deter investments in one of the world’s poorest nations.

 

President-elect Daniel Chapo of the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front, also known as Frelimo, has ruled out talks with the key opposition leader until after he takes over from President Filipe Nyusi in mid-January. 

 

“There is no indication that Frelimo and government have a plan to solve the problem,” Narciso Matos, rector at Maputo’s Polytechnic University, said in an email response. “The government has been reactive — using more lethal force than previously — no visibly strategy to sort out the mess.” 

 

Maputo and neighboring Matola suffered looting and vandalism on Tuesday that was “almost incomprehensible,” the state-owned Agência de Informação de Moçambique reported Wednesday. “The situation is slipping into chaos,” the news agency said.

 

Venâncio Mondlane, the opposition presidential candidate orchestrating the protests against what he said were rigged elections, warned on Tuesday they wouldn’t stop. He’s open to international mediation, the fiery pastor and former lawmaker said in a live stream, calling for supporters to refrain from violence.

 

At least 10 of Frelimo’s offices were burned, Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda said on state television late Tuesday.

 

“The skies are covered in black smoke from burning tires and public and private infrastructure,” Maputo-based Center for Democracy and Human Rights said in a statement Wednesday. “The floor is covered in blood. The state is absent.” 

 

The US called the electoral process “flawed,” while the European Union pointed to “irregularities during counting of votes and unjustified alteration of election results.” 

 

Mondlane fled the country on Oct. 21 and is in an undisclosed location. He got 24% of the vote, the Constitutional Council announced Monday, giving the ruling party candidate, Chapo, 64%. The top electoral court’s decision can’t be appealed.

 

Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe president and chairman of the Southern African Development Community of which Mozambique is a member, called on parties to abide by the Constitutional Council’s decision. South Africa’s government said urgent dialogue was needed between the groups.