Violent protests have wracked the Southern African country of Mozambique after a disputed national election in October. Electoral irregularities and claims of vote rigging have led to what human rights activists have called state-sanctioned oppression and human rights violations. More than 40 people have been killed in post-election violence so far.
The protests began after the National Elections Commission announced that the long-ruling Mozambique Liberation Front, known by its Portuguese acronym, Frelimo, had once again emerged victorious in the national elections on Oct. 9. Frelimo has ruled the country for 49 years and has often been accused of electoral fraud. The Frelimo candidate, Daniel Chapo, was declared the victor on Oct. 24.
After the election, young people took to the streets in support of independent candidate Venâncio Mondlane. Many Mozambicans are fed up with rigged elections, corruption and the nation’s widespread poverty. Civil society groups and Western election observers also noted that the election was unfair and that its results were altered.
The Mozambican government is also alleged to have imposed internet blackouts that prevented citizens from exercising their rights to freedom of expression and access to information in the election aftermath.
Mozambique's bishops designated Nov. 24 as a National Day of Prayer for peace and reconciliation following the recent deaths and injuries related to the election crisis.
Adriano Nuvunga, the director of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights in Mozambique and chairperson of the Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Network, told South African media that the country’s capital, Maputo, “is like a warzone.” He described how heavily armed military and police prevented protestors from demonstrating peacefully against the election result.
Mr. Nuvunga said that Mozambicans were also disappointed with the Southern African Development Community and the African Union because of their silence on the alleged election fraud. Both bodies were present as observers in Mozambique for the election but left days after the vote. He said that they were warned that there would be post-election violence as the election results were contested.
S.A.D.C. called an extraordinary summit on Mozambique on Nov. 20 in Harare, Zimbabwe, to address Mozambique’s growing post-election crisis, but Mr. Nuvunga doubts that more talks will lead to a solution. He believes Frelimo will prove unwilling to accept a recount or otherwise surrender its control over the process.
In a statement, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress congratulated Frelimo on their election victory and pledged its unwavering support days after the election. “We extend our best wishes to Comrade Daniel Chapo, the first Frelimo presidential candidate born after Mozambique’s independence…[representing] a new generation of leadership that carries forward the values of [independence leader] Samora Machel. His leadership will be crucial in continuing to advance the gains made since independence and navigating the challenges that lie ahead.”
The Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference wrote a letter signed by the president of the conference, Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, to the president of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique, Archbishop Inácio Saure, I.M.C. In the letter, Bishop Sipuka said that the bishops regretted the South African government’s endorsement of the elections despite “widespread complaints.”
The bishops said: “It will be difficult to continue repressing the will of people who want to be free. Should the incumbent government continue along this path, it will be impossible to rule the country, and life will become more miserable.”
“The elections took place in a context of great discontent and a strong popular demand to strengthen the rule of law and [for] greater transparency in electoral administration,” Bishop Sipuka wrote. He said that this highlighted “the voices of the people on the ground” and strengthened the suspicions that the grievances of the Mozambican people were being minimized by South Africa’s support of the results.
In a statement on Oct. 22, the Mozambican bishops warned of fraud involving practices such as ballot box stuffing and manipulation of official documents. They emphasized that such actions deepen distrust in electoral institutions. In support of the position of the Mozambican church, the S.A.C.B.C. bishops highlighted the phrase used in the Oct. 22 statement: “To certify a lie is a fraud.” For them, official recognition of the results, without a rigorous investigation into allegations of fraud, calls into question the integrity of the entire electoral process.
Owing to the post-election violence, the border between Mozambique and neighboring South Africa was closed for a few days. But even the short border shutdown had a powerful impact on both the Mozambican and South African economies. The Port of Maputo in Mozambique receives between 1,200 and 1,300 trucks daily from South Africa. These trucks are loaded with ore used in industrial production, including chromium, ferrochrome, magnetite and coal.
The electoral outcomes have not been confirmed by the Constitutional Council, nor has the council’s judges set a deadline for analyzing and declaring the process valid. The process could drag on owing to its complexity. The validation phase only begins after the conclusion of all electoral appeals likely at the district, provincial and general levels.
Ferlimo was founded in 1962 as a democratic socialist party. In 1964, the party started an armed campaign against Portuguese colonial rule that had overseen Mozambique for more than 400 years. Between 1964 and 1974, Frelimo fought a protracted war of independence. It was supported mainly by China, the Soviet Union and some Western non-governmental organizations. Frelimo came to power in 1975, when the country gained independence from Portugal.
After independence, Mozambique faced a difficult situation. The country was bankrupt, and many skilled workers had fled because of the war. A counterrevolutionary movement called the Mozambique National Resistance—Renamo—attacked state infrastructure. The movement was assisted by Ian Smith’s regime in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), at that time fighting a bush war against independence forces struggling to overturn British colonial rule. Clashes between Frelimo and Renamo escalated and soon led to the Mozambican civil war between 1977 and 1992.
A peace treaty was signed between the two parties in October 1992. Four mediators brokered the peace: two from the Rome-based Community of Sant’Egidio (the movement’s founder Andrea Ricardo, assisted by Matteo Zuppi, the present archbishop of Bologna), an Italian government representative and a Mozambican archbishop. The treaty is known as the Rome General Peace Accord.
On Nov. 10, Pope Francis, in his Angelus address, turned his thoughts to the weeks of civil unrest in Mozambique. He urged all sides to engage in dialogue and negotiation and spare no energy in finding just solutions to Mozambique’s challenges. He urged everyone to pray for the people of Mozambique and hoped that the present situation will not cause them to lose faith in the path of democracy, justice and peace.
Unfortunately, violently contested elections are not the only challenge the country faces.
Mozambique’s northernmost province, Cabo Delgado, has endured a deadly Islamist insurrection since 2017. The insurgents are motivated by perceived socio-economic exclusion amid mineral and hydrocarbon discoveries in the region. The conflict has been seen as a threat to national security and stands the risk of becoming a new frontier for the global jihad to exploit as foreign Islamist fighters have joined Cabo Delgado insurgents.
The extreme violence of the so-called Islamic State in Mozambique (I.S.M.M., known locally as al-Shabab) has forced roughly a million people from their homes, killed an estimated 4,000 civilians and stunted economic growth in a gas and resource-rich province. Eighteen churches in the province have been burned by the insurgency. The bishop of Pemba, António Juliasse, said Christians in Cabo Delgado are living in a state of persecution.
The U.N. refugee agency, U.N.H.C.R., reported in January 2024 that over 582,000 people had been displaced by violence in Cabo Delgado. Only about a third of the people who have taken refuge in dozens of provincial camps receive basic humanitarian assistance.
The hopes of the Mozambican people that a new president would address the terrorism that has killed more than 5,600 people in Cabo Delgado has now been placed on the back burner. The post-election violence and political instability mean that the people of the area are vulnerable to further attacks.
