– High risk of violence on inauguration day, particularly in the capital, Maputo
By Ricardo Dias
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – The Constitutional Council (CC) will hold the swearing-in ceremony for Daniel Chapo as Mozambique’s fifth president on 15 January, the body announced in a statement on Thursday.
The CC has not specified the time or location of the event, but previous inaugurations were held at Independence Square, near the Municipal Council offices in the city of Maputo.
Chapo was declared the winner of the 9 October presidential election with 65% of the vote. However, his election is highly contested by the runner-up candidate, Venâncio Mondlane, who claims electoral fraud.
Domestic and international electoral observation groups have reported instances of irregularities during the election. The European Union’s election observation mission cited incidents of ballot stuffing in seven provinces and the unjustified alteration of results.
After the CC proclaimed Daniel Chapo as the elected President of the Republic on 23 December, the opposition leader organised a large protest movement. In just five days, the protests resulted in 176 deaths, 240 shootings, 167 arrests, widespread looting, and fires in several police stations and ruling party offices. According to the Decide platform, 278 people have died since the protests began in October, most of them due to police shootings during clashes.
Inauguration day could see popular demonstrations and violent police crackdowns.
Many countries have yet to recognise Chapo’s victory and are calling for dialogue to resolve the post-election conflict. (RD)
