Mozambique Elections: Police says over 10 injured, 70 detained in election protests – in Nampula, Nacala, Maputo and Quelimane

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Mozambique Elections: Police says over 10 injured, 70 detained in election protests – in Nampula, Nacala, Maputo and Quelimane

7:45 CAT | 27 Oct 2023

For illustration purposes only. Maputo, 27 October, 2023. [Photo: Luisa Nhantumbo/Lusa]

At least 10 people were injured and another 70 detained on Friday during protest marches against the results of the sixth local elections in Mozambique, the police announced.

“In the city of Nampula, [north of Mozambique], ten injured persons were reported, nine civilians and one member of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique [PRM]. These victims were promptly rescued and are out of danger,” said Orlando Mudumane, spokesperson for the General Command of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM), during a press conference in Maputo.

According to the Mozambican police, a total of 70 people were arrested during the protests today: 60 in the city of Nampula, four in Nacala Porto (both in the north of Mozambique), another four in Maputo (in the south), and two in the city of Quelimane (in the center of the country).

“The suspects received due process and the respective documents were sent to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for subsequent legal procedures that will culminate in the criminal liability of the respective moral perpetrators who are, based on the evidence of the facts on the ground and according to the reports of the detainees, the respective Renamo heads of listin the aforementioned municipalities [the Renamo candidates to mayor in Nampula, Nacala Maputo and Quelimane]”, said Orlando Mudumane.

A Ordem dos Advogados de #Mocambique já está nas esquadras para assistir as pessoas detidas no contexto das manifestações, de acordo com Quitéria @QGuirengane no FB. A polícia anunciou que cerca de 70 pessoas foram detidas em Nacala-Porto, Quelimane e cidades de Nampula e Maputo. pic.twitter.com/VBqyNcBSwK

— Alexandre Nhampossa (@AllexandreMZ) October 27, 2023

The Mozambican police today fired several tear gas shots at thousands of people demonstrating in Maputo against the results of the local elections announced by the National Election Commission (CNE).

Without opening any space for questions, the spokesperson for the PRM General Command said that the police were forced to “use force to restore public order”, as it registered the occurrence of cases of placing barricades and burning tires, vandalizing shop windows and throwing blunt objects in the cities where the demonstrations took place, situations that disrupted order and affected the movement of people and goods.

Orlando Mudumane reiterated that the police “recognizes and respects” the right to demonstrate, asking, however, that political parties “scrupulously” comply “with the dictates of legislation” on the matter.

“The PRM warns that it will not tolerate subversive acts, with a focus on vandalism, violence and widespread public disorder and, whenever necessary and justifiable, the police will take all the coercive measures, always based on the principles of legality and proportionality”, the PRM General Command spokesperson declared.

The Mozambican Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Center for Public Integrity (CIP) said today that a police officer and a 10-year-old boy died during demonstrations, in Nampula and Nacala, against the results of the local elections in Mozambique, ab information which the police have not confirmed so far.

READ: CIP Mozambique Elections: Riots and 2 deaths in Nampula and Nacala

The sixth municipal elections in Mozambique took place in 65 municipalities across the country on October 11, including 12 new municipalities, which went to vote for the first time.

The National Elections Commission (CNE) of Mozambique announced on Thursday the victory of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo), the party in power, in 64 of the country’s 65 municipalities, while the MDM, the third largest party, won in one: Beira.

READ: Mozambique Elections: CNE declares Frelimo victory in all municipalities except Beira – AIM report

Opposition parties, especially the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), the main opposition party, have been promoting, all over the country, marches contesting the results of the October 11 elections, bringing together thousands of people who denounce an alleged “mega fraud ” in the ballot.

On Wednesday, the presidents of Renamo, Ossufo Momade, and the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM, third political force) – which maintained the Beira municipality -, Lutero Simango, assured that they will fight “together to be able to save democracy “, insisting that the local elections on the 11th were the “summit” of electoral fraud.

Source: Lusa