In a rather unexpected turn of events amidst ongoing unrest in Mozambique, opposition leader Venancio Mondlane announced that demonstrations against the October 8 presidential election results would be put on hold for five days. He explained that this decision came about as a result of his dedication to enabling humanitarian and international bodies to assess the state of human rights in the country.
According to a report by the Club of Mozambique on Monday, Mondlane spoke on a Facebook broadcast announcing the temporary postponement and reiterating the need to enable the entry of regional actors in Mozambique. He said a group of former heads of state in southern Africa were interested in mediating an end to the impasse.
This announcement comes amid rising tensions in the country after the October 8 elections. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has deployed his national security advisor to Maputo to address the situation, reflecting a growing regional concern. South Africa, which shares a border with Mozambique and has major investments in the mining, energy, and construction sectors, is aware of the potential damage this political unrest could cause to its economic interests and regional security and is hence determined to see it resolved swiftly to protect both its investments and regional stability.
It can be recalled that during the month of November, as an effort to prevent further disruptions by the protesters, South African authorities temporarily closed the country’s Lubombo border, which is a crossing point between South and Mozambique, after protestors set vehicles ablaze on Mozambique’s side of the border.
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Mondlane, who alleges that the election was rigged, has declared his intention to install himself as president despite currently being outside Mozambique. His challenge follows the ruling Frelimo party’s Daniel Chapo being declared the winner of the presidential race. Last week, Mozambique’s top court upheld Chapo’s victory, although with a reduced margin, intensifying the opposition’s grievances.
Since protests erupted in October, over 250 people have lost their lives, with local civil society groups attributing most of the fatalities to gunfire from security forces. The brief pause in demonstrations is now seen as a critical window for intervention by humanitarian organizations and regional mediators. That’ll be all on this story for now. Kindly subscribe, like, comment, share, and hit the notifications bell to stay updated on the latest news and unfolding events.
