Ghana-based African Electoral Institute (AEI) is calling for calm in Mozambique and has offered a number of recommendations following a general election that saw bloodshed in October and a reported assassination attempt on the country’s opposition leader on Monday (yesterday).
Venâncio Mondlane, who finished in second place in last month’s disputed presidential election, claimed Monday he escaped an assassination attempt in South Africa.
He went into hiding in a Johannesburg neighbourhood together with his wife and daughter two weeks ago after his lawyer and aide were killed as they were preparing to challenge the election results. Mondlane announced on Facebook on Monday that some assassins had gone to his home to try to kill him. He said he jumped through a back door and ran with his wife and daughter while carrying his bags.
The opposition leader had called on Mozambicans last week to hold a 7-day nationwide demonstration against the election results, which are being challenged in court by his political party, Podemos.
The demonstrations led to violent clashes between civilians and the police, claiming several lives and leaving many injured. At least eight people were reportedly killed over the weekend and reports said three children were shot dead by police in the capital, Maputo, on Monday (yesterday).
Nationwide strike
A general strike called by Mondlane is in force despite a counter call by the country’s prime minister, Adriano Afonso Maleiane, for people to return to work.
The police responded with teargas and fired both rubber bullets and live ammunition, killing one person, after two offices of the governing party, Frelimo, reportedly came under attack.
The demonstrators subsequently burnt a house that allegedly belonged to a police officer accused of killing a protester. The ongoing demonstration is due to end with a “final march” this Thursday in Maputo.
The candidate for the ruling party, Daniel Chapo, was officially declared the winner with over 71% of the vote, as against Mondlane’s 20% after the October 9 elections. Ossufo Momade, the leader of the third-force party Renamo, got 6%.
“The mass protest in Mozambique has led to the near breakdown of law and order, which threatens to plunge the country back into another armed conflict as was witnessed some years ago.
“It is in this light that the African Electoral Institute is calling on the citizens to remain calm and to allow their leadership to use all due process (s) under their constitution or electoral laws to seek redress,” the AEI said in a statement issued in Ghana’s capital, Accra, Monday.
AEI worried about reported election irregularities
While the AEI is calling for calm across Mozambique, also of concern to the civil society organisation are reports that the election was beset with “so much irregularities”.
“The African Electoral Institute is worried about the unfolding chaos especially when some of the foreign election observers, including European Union (EU), have clearly stated that the election was fraught with so much irregularities and opaqueness including unjustified alterations of electoral results in favour of the governing Frelimo party.
“The African Electoral Institute equally condemns the security agencies in Mozambique for the numerous number of protesters who have been injured and the alleged target killings of two opposition leading members namely Elvino Dias who was a lawyer and advisor to the opposition presidential candidate Mondiane and Paulo Guambo, the spokesperson of the opposition party,” the statement said.
The organisation urged the security agencies in Mozambique to be circumspect in the discharge of their duties and asked them to put a human face on how they handled the protesters. It cautioned that inhumane and unprofessional crowd control could escalate the situation and turn the country on its own head.
“The African Electoral Institute wishes to urge the security agencies in Mozambique to be circumspect in the performance of their duties, to disperse the demonstrators by giving it a human face and eschew high-handedness since that only goes to infuriate the citizens to come all out to vent their anger and frustration which may overwhelm the security agencies, leading to complete breakdown of law and order,” it warned.
Five recommendations from AEI
The organisation, in wrapping up its statement, made a number of recommendations to help de-escalate the situation and set the country on a path of recovery.
“The Mozambican electoral body should do the needful by constituting an independent investigation committee or commission to conduct a thorough investigation into the complaints of the opposition, to come out with their findings and recommendations for implementation as quickly as possible.
“Both the incumbent and opposition parties should commit to the rule of law by accepting the findings of the investigation body for speedy implementation or resolution. The leadership of the opposition party should call their supporters to exercise restraint whilst they use all possible and legal means to fight for the right thing to be done,” the organisation said.
It further asked that the security forces should try as much as professionally possible “to avoid a complete breakdown of law and order and also prevent further injuries or harm to protesters”.
Lastly, it urged the international community “such as the European Union, the African Union and even the United Nations” to take interest in the stalemate and find “a lasting and acceptable resolution to the problem to prevent it from escalating”.
“It is the humble view of the African Electoral Institute that if the above suggestions are put to work, the people of Mozambique will see light at the end of the tunnel. The African Electoral Institute equally wants to admonish all electoral bodies or authorities across the globe, particularly those in Africa, that it is incumbent on them to always strive to organise elections in a manner the processes are seen to be free, fair, transparent, accountable and acceptable by all and worthy of being called successful elections. That is what democracy is all about and that is what our motto resonates: integrity of choice,” it concluded.
Source: Edward Adeti/Media Without Borders/mwbonline.org/Ghana
