Violence-hit Mozambique opens new parliament

The African country has been in turmoil since October, with at least 300 people reportedly killed in protests against election results

Mozambique has inaugurated its newly elected parliament following months of deadly protests against the results of the southern African nation’s October elections, in which the long-ruling Frelimo party was declared the winner.

Lawmakers were sworn in on Monday in the 250-seat parliament in the capital, Maputo, which local media said became a “ghost town” that day due to opposition-led strikes.

Frelimo has 171 MPs in the new parliament, while 43 are representatives of the main opposition party Podemos. Renamo Party, which secured 28 seats, and the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), with eight, boycotted the inaugural session in rejection of the outcome of the vote.

Renamo spokesperson Marcial Macome told reporters on Sunday that his party would abstain because the swearing-in ceremony constituted “a social outrage against the will of Mozambicans” who have been denied “free, fair, and transparent” elections.

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“What is required are transparent, free, and fair elections, and not administrative elections,” he stated, according to state-owned news agency AIM.

The MDM leadership has also reportedly ordered the party’s elected representatives not to take their parliamentary seats in response to demands for “electoral truth.”

The former Portuguese colony has been plagued by violence since late October, when the electoral authority declared Frelimo presidential candidate Daniel Chapo as president-elect in general elections earlier that month.

Venancio Mondlane, the opposition leader backed by Podemos, who came in second place, alleged that the votes were marred by “massive fraud” and urged supporters to protest the outcome.

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Earlier results from the electoral commission showed Chapo receiving 71% of the vote to Mondlane’s 20%. However, the Mozambican Constitutional Council ruled last month that Chapo won 65% and Mondlane won 24%. The opposition leader claims to have won 53% of the vote, accusing the country’s election institutions of rigging in favor of Frelimo, which has held power since 1975.

Mondlane returned to Mozambique last week from a self-imposed exile following the assassination of two of his party officials, including his lawyer, and alleged threats against his life by national security officers.

At least 300 Mozambicans have been killed since the outbreak of protests on October 21, according to Plataforma Decide, a local civil society monitoring group.

On December 25, authorities said 33 inmates died and 15 more were injured when a riot broke out in a prison near Maputo. Mozambican Police Chief Bernardino Rafael said protesters helped 1,534 inmates, including convicted terrorists, to escape during the unrest.