Mozambique opposition figures killed as protest grows over election outcomes

Attackers killed a Mozambique opposition lawyer and a celebration official after firing rounds at a automobile wherein they had been travelling on Saturday, ratcheting up tensions earlier than protests towards a disputed election outcome, rights teams mentioned.

Mozambique’s new opposition Podemos celebration and its presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane have rejected provisional outcomes displaying a possible win for Frelimo, the celebration that has dominated Mozambique for half a century. They’ve known as for a nationwide strike on Monday.

The Mozambican civil society election observer group Extra Integrity mentioned the assault occurred within the Bairro da Coop neighbourhood of the capital, Maputo, killing the Podemos lawyer Elvino Dias and the celebration consultant Paulo Guambe.

“They had been brutally assassinated [in a] cold-blooded homicide,” mentioned Adriano Nuvunga, the director of Mozambique’s Heart for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD). “The indications [are] that round 10 to fifteen bullets had been shot, and so they died immediately.”

Human Rights Watch additionally issued a press release confirming the assault.

In accordance with the newest election tally, Frelimo is main in all 11 provinces, and its candidate, Daniel Chapo, is extensively anticipated to win the 9 October election, however exterior observers have solid doubt on the credibility of the ballot.

They famous reviews of vote-buying, intimidation, inflated voter rolls in Frelimo strongholds and an absence of transparency in collation – issues which have marred most polls since Frelimo first launched democracy in 1994 after twenty years in energy.

Full outcomes are anticipated on 24 October, however many worry Monday’s protest might flip bloody. Mozambique’s safety forces have opened fireplace on political protesters previously, together with after final yr’s native elections, based on human rights teams.