By Nurat Uthman
Police in Mozambique fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the capital, Maputo, on Thursday after the main opposition leader called for a demonstration against election results.
The southern African nation has been rocked by violence since an October 9 vote, won by the Frelimo party, which has been in power for almost 50 years.
Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who claimed the results were falsified and that he was the true winner, called for a mass protest on Thursday, telling AFP in an interview that it was a “crucial moment” for the country.
“I feel that there is a revolutionary atmosphere… which shows that we are on the verge of a unique historical and political transition in the country,” said Mondlane, speaking from an undisclosed location.
The 50-year-old former radio presenter told AFP he could not disclose his whereabouts other than to say he was not in Africa.
The Mozambique Bar Association warned that there were “conditions for a bloodbath” on Thursday, as a heavy security presence was deployed across the capital.
Several thousand people took to the streets on Thursday morning, with some being dispersed by riot police using tear gas, according to AFP reporters at the scene.
The city of more than one million people resembled a ghost town, with shops, banks, schools, and universities closed.
“Our first objective… is certainly the restoration of electoral truth,” Mondlane told AFP via Zoom late on Wednesday.
“We want the popular will expressed at the polls on October 9 to be restored.”
He said he was “waging a struggle” with a “national” and “historical purpose”.
“People have realised that it wasn’t possible to bring profound change in Mozambique without taking risks,” he said, adding that “now they have to free themselves”.
