Mozambique court ruling sparks fresh poll protests

Protests have broken out once again in Mozambique after the country’s highest court confirmed that the ruling party candidate, Daniel Chapo, won October’s disputed presidential election.

Deadly protests erupted when the preliminary results were announced at the time.

Venâncio Mondlane, who came second, has been calling on his supporters since the election to demonstrate against what he said was a rigged vote.

On Monday, protesters could be heard chanting his name, burning tyres, barricading roads and throwing stones at police. The security forces have responded with tear gas.

Mondlane, himself, is in exile. He fled Mozambique and accused the police of threatening behaviour after two of his aides were shot dead in October.

In a weekend social media message, he said there could be a “new popular uprising” if the result was not overturned.

While maintaining that the candidate of the governing party, Frelimo, had won the election, the constitutional court revised his margin of victory downwards.

Initial results in October said the victor gained a 71% share of the vote to Mondlane’s 20%. The court has now ruled that Chapo won 65% to his main rival’s 24%.

Earlier in the day, the usual hustle and bustle that characterises the greater Maputo area on workdays and during the festive season was replaced by silence and empty roads – a scene that had become common in this region since the popular demonstrations began on 21 October.

Mondlane, a 50-year-old evangelical pastor, told the BBC earlier this month that there was “no way” he could accept the election result.

The electoral commission denied his allegation that the poll was rigged in favour of Frelimo, which has been in power since independence 49 years ago.

But international election observers have said the vote was flawed, pointing to doctored numbers and other irregularities during the counting process.

The weeks-long demonstrations have led to violent encounters with the police and at least 110 people have been killed, local monitoring group Plataforma Decide said.

It is alleged that many of those who have died have been killed by security forces, but police commander Bernadino Rafael had previously told the BBC that his officers had been defending themselves after coming under attack.

In a message on Sunday to the largely Catholic country, Pope Francis called for dialogue and the pursuit of the common good to prevail.

Mondlane has been speaking to the outgoing President, Filipe Nyusi, but it is not clear what the outcome has been.

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