- Free movement could be severely disrupted, including at major borders
- Protests may affect over a million students sitting for school exams
By Ricardo Dias
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – Opposition presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane announced on Monday a "tougher" phase of post-election protests, including the suspension of flights, closure of toll gates, and shutdown of offices of the ruling Frelimo party for seven days, starting next Wednesday (4 November).
"We want everything that moves to come to a halt—cars, buses," Mondlane stated during a live broadcast on his Facebook account, followed by thousands. "Protests will focus on neighbourhoods and avenues (…) we want to call for the suspension of flights to Mozambique because the people are reorganising the country," he added. Up until now, airports have been largely exempt from the unrest.
Public demonstrations against the election results have been ongoing since late October, sparked by the killings of Mondlane's lawyer, Elvino Dias, and Paulo Guambe, election agent for the PODEMOS party. Since then, over 80 people have been killed, most of them shot during clashes with the police.
This new phase of protests could lead to widespread chaos in Mozambique, particularly in major cities and key transport corridors, such as the Maputo, Beira, and Nacala ports, as well as the National Highway Number 1, which links the north and south of the country
Mondlane is also demanding the closure of Frelimo party offices, the National Elections Commission (CNE), and the Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE), along with the suspension of Christmas and New Year celebrations. He is thus ordering Christians to stop celebrating one of the most important events in the religious calendar.
There are fears that protesters may destroy Frelimo party offices, as occurred in earlier demonstrations. Mondlane also called for the suspension of toll payments on major roads, which could lead to vandalism of toll infrastructure.
The protests are expected to take place between 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM during regular working hours, continuing in the evenings from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM, with demonstrators protesting inside their homes using whistles and other noisy instruments.
Concerns remain high that the police will respond violently, including the use of live ammunition against protesters, as seen in previous incidents. The risk of fatalities among protesters and destruction of police stations is significant.
Meanwhile, exams for 10th and 12th grade students began across the country on Monday, involving approximately 700,000 students. Fourth and sixth grade pupils are scheduled to take their resit exams this week. In total, more than 1.5 million students and 18,000 teachers are directly involved in these assessments.
The announcement of intensified protests may affect the administration of exams, particularly given previous reports of students being injured by gunfire during the violent suppression of earlier demonstrations. Despite calls for school closures, the government has maintained the academic calendar.
The Mozambican Confederation of Business Associations (CTA), the country's largest business organisation, estimates that sectors such as logistics, transport, and hospitality have been the hardest hit by the protests, with losses amounting to 25 billion meticais in the first ten days alone. (RD)
