Mozambique’s Ruling Party Says Protest Calls Are Inciting Coup
(Bloomberg) -- Mozambique’s ruling party said the opposition’s calls for ongoing protests against the outcome of last month’s elections are inciting an attempted coup.
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When people are encouraged to occupy the presidential palace, “this is an attempt to seize power, a power that was democratically instituted and legally legitimized.” Alcinda de Abreu, a spokeswoman for the political commission of Frelimo, as the governing party is known, said in comments broadcast over state television Thursday. “We have seen calls for violence, insubordination, general insurrection and finally an attempted coup d’état.”
The southern African nation has been on edge since opposition leader Venâncio Mondlane, a fiery former lawmaker and pastor, called on his supporters to take to the streets en masse to back his claim that he won last month’s presidential vote. The official results showed Frelimo extended its 49-year rule with its candidate Daniel Chapo the victor.
The standoff has left gas-rich Mozambique confronting what may be its most perilous period since a 16-year civil war ended in 1992.
By 3 p.m. local time, Maputo, the capital, bore scenes of a civil war, the Center for Democracy and Human Rights, said in a statement. In addition to tear gas and rubber bullets, police used live ammunition to stop protesters advancing toward the city center, the local campaign group said.
“Protesters faced an insurmountable barrier of trucks and soldiers blocking their advance,” and at least five people were shot dead, it said. That was in addition to the 34 people who’d already died in the unrest that erupted after the Oct. 9 election, which the rights group confirmed before Thursday afternoon.
“Kill the people you want to kill, but it won’t stop,” Mondlane said in a live stream Thursday. “We will continue with our demonstrations and we will not stop until the final victory.”
Mondlane had pledged that Thursday would mark a “day of the liberation of Mozambique” from the party that’s ruled since independence from Portugal. Chapo has largely kept a low profile since the vote, while saying dialog has to be the basis for resolving conflicts.
The party backing Mondlane has lodged an appeal with the Constitutional Council over the election results that showed Mondlane won 20% of the vote and Chapo 71%. The court is yet to validate the outcome and is considering the appeal.
The unrest has forced a terminal operator at Maputo’s port to suspend operations and battered investor confidence in the southeast African nation. The country’s $900 million eurobond due 2031 fell 0.5% by 8:05 p.m. in Maputo on Thursday to 83.88 cents on the dollar.
Neighboring South Africa has closed its main land border, a key transit point for the global trade in ferrochrome that’s used to make stainless steel, and called for calm, while warning its citizens against travel to Mozambique.
--With assistance from Julius Domoney.
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