By Jose Tembe, MAPUTO
Mozambique
Election observers working for the European Union (EU) say some voting results have been doctored in Mozambique, as unrest in the country continues to grow.
Protesters barricaded roads in
Maputo |
Thousands of people joined
opposition protests on Monday that were called by independent presidential
candidate VenĂ¢ncio Mondlane.
He blames security forces
for gunning down his lawyer Elvino Dias and another political
official called Paulo Guambe in the same car last Friday - but they
deny any wrongdoing.
Official results from the
general election held on 9 October are due to announced by Friday.
Evidence has been found of
"irregularities during counting and unjustified alteration of election
results at polling station and district level", said
the EU observer mission in a statement on Tuesday.
It is now urging "the
electoral bodies to conduct the tabulation process in a transparent and
credible manner, ensuring the traceability of polling station results".
Vote-buying, inflated voter
rolls in strongholds of the governing Frelimo party and voter intimidation have
all been reported by the US-based International Republican Institute, which
also sent a multinational election observer mission to the southern African
nation.
Mozambique's national results
are meant to be published on the electoral commission's website for all to see,
but last month the body said its website had suffered a cyber-attack. The
website remains inactive.
Fifty-year-old presidential
hopeful VenĂ¢ncio Mondlane, who has the backing of opposition party Podemos, has
already claimed victory and alleges that the killing of his aides on Friday
night was politically motivated.
"This was a crime
committed by the defence and security forces. There's no doubt about it. The
special forces killed Elvino [Dias]," he has said.
Mondlane rallied people in
cities across Mozambique to protest against the killings and against what he
says is the theft of the election.
On Monday, police used live rounds, tear gas, armoured vehicles and police dogs to push back protesters from the site in the capital city Maputo where Dias and Guambe were shot dead.
Demonstrators also blocked
roads with burning tyres and barricades.
Footage shows Mondlane, and
journalists running for cover after shots were fired in their direction.
Across the cities of Maputo,
Beira and Nampula, local media reported that there were multiple arrests and at
least 16 people were wounded and taken to hospital.
Shops and businesses closed on
Monday but began reopening their doors on Tuesday.
The funeral for Dias is set to
take place on Wednesday. Mondlane has called for further protests on Thursday
and Friday.
There is growing pressure on
the Mozambican authorities to identify the killers and bring them to justice
following strong condemnation from former Mozambican President Armando Guebuza,
the African Union, the UN, the US and the EU.
Celebrated Mozambican author
Mia Couto has called the killings a "crime against the nation".
Mozambique has only ever been
governed by one party - Frelimo - which has ruled since independence from
Portugal.
The country is guaranteed a
new president because President Filipe Nyusi is stepping down after serving the
two-term limit.
The Frelimo candidate is
47-year-old Daniel Chapo.
His rivals in this election
are Mondlane, Ossufo Momade - the former rebel commander-turned-leader of the
main opposition party Renamo - and Lutero Simango from the Mozambique
Democratic Movement.
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