 "A barricade burns in Mozambique's capital Maputo. AP")
Mozambique is burning. Protesters in the African nation are facing off with security forces after the latter fired tear gas and rubber bullets.
But why are they protesting? The clashes are a response to the result of last month’s election for president. According to the results, the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique candidate won another five years leading to the party staying in power for more than a half-century.
Thursday’s (November 7) protest is considered to be the biggest one since the results came out, rejected by the opposition parties and many citizens. Protests spread like wildfire in the national capital Maputo and other cities that were met by heavy police clashes.
At least 20 people have been killed by police forces in clashes that began nearly a month ago, some international rights groups suggest while locals claim that more than 50 people have lost their lives since the unrest, reported AP. According to Human Rights Watch, internet restrictions have been in place since the beginning of the protests and social media sites have also been blocked by authorities.
Authorities threaten to deploy the army as protesters set fires on the streets and burn ruling party offices while neighbouring South Africa has shut its border post with Mozambique and heightened security around it.
Let us take a look at what is happening in Mozambique.
What was the outcome of the presidential election?
On October 24, the results of the presidential election were declared naming Daniel Chapo as the winner. He belongs to the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique, which has governed Mozambique since independence from Portugal in 1975.
Even before the results were announced, opposition parties claimed fraud, accusing the ruling party, known as Frelimo, of ballot stuffing, manipulating voter lists and staffing polling stations with officials loyal to it. Frelimo has long been accused of rigging elections in the country of around 34 million.
The European Union’s observer team said there were irregularities in the election, including the altering of some results. Mozambican media has reported that the Constitutional Council, the supreme body for election law, has asked the commission that ran the election to explain discrepancies.
What happened to opposition leaders?
After the results were announced, opposition candidates especially independent Venancio Mondlane (who was second behind Chapo in the official results) asked people to stay at home after the election as a mark of protest against the alleged vote tampering. But things took a turn for the worst after two senior opposition figures were killed in their car in a late-night shooting by unidentified gunmen on October 18.
The men who were killed were the lawyer for Mondlane and the official spokesperson for the political party that supported Mondlane in the election. Mondlane said they were assassinated and he and opposition supporters gathered near the site of the killings the day after to protest. Police fired tear gas canisters at Mondlane, his aides and journalists who were interviewing him, forcing them to flee.
How have matters worsened since then?
Law and order went for a toss since the incident with protests erupting in every corner of Mozambique. The statue of the current president Filipe Nyusi has been toppled by protesters and its head chopped off to portray frustration.
Mondlane said on social media that he had gone into exile in fear for his life after the killing of his lawyer. His whereabouts are unknown, but he has called on social media for more protests “so that we can then be freed from these shackles that have held us up for 50 years.”
Authorities have said little other than the protests have been violent and needed to be quelled. They have not given information on the number of people killed or injured in the protests.
Rights groups accused the police of shooting at peaceful protests in the days after the election and said children were among the victims. Anger among opposition supporters has swelled. The presidential palace is under heavy guard.
How Mozambique has had history of violence?
Mozambique is still in the shadow of a bloody 15-year civil war the leftist Frelimo fought against the rebel group Renamo after independence. The country only held its first elections in 1994 and this was the first vote where there were no armed groups connected to political parties after a process to disarm militias.
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The country, which has rich natural resources including large, newly discovered natural gas fields, was already struggling with a yearslong insurgency by an Islamic State-affiliated group in the northern province of Cabo Delgado.
Mondlane, who broke away from Renamo, has support among Mozambique’s disaffected youth and he and the new Podesa party that is backing him have become the biggest challenge to Frelimo’s long rule.
With inputs from AP