At least 11 people have died in a police crackdown on post-election protests following Mozambique’s disputed October 9 elections.
On Thursday, thousands of protesters are expected to again take to the streets in protest in Maputo, the capital, and other cities, ignoring calls by outgoing President Filipe Nyusi to stay home.
Demonstrators are angry at the results of the October 9 elections that saw the long-ruling Frelimo (Mozambique Liberation Front) party candidate Daniel Chapo sweep the polls, while Mondlane, a favourite among young people, came a distant second.
The opposition alleges votes were rigged, and election observers also noted some irregularities.
The brutal killings of two of Mondlane’s close associates last Saturday have also incensed supporters.
Although he ran as an independent candidate, Mondlane is backed by the extra-parliamentary group, The Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique, abbreviated as Podemos.
Many of Mozambique’s youth – who make up two-thirds of the 35 million population – saw October 9 as an opportunity to do away with Frelimo. The party has ruled the country since it wrested independence from colonial ruler Portugal in 1975 after a bloody uprising.
However, young Mozambicans say Frelimo’s reputation as a liberation party makes no impression on them, and its legacy is now deeply buried under years of economic decline, corruption, high levels of unemployment, and an armed conflict in the north, despite the country’s touristic beauty and abundant gas reserves.
