Mozambican police fired live rounds at protesters who took to the streets to support opposition leader Venancio Mondlane in the capital Maputo on Wednesday, according to Mondlane’s aides and eyewitnesses.
At least 16 people were injured when police fired gunshots to disperse crowds, Mondlane’s team said on Facebook.
People took to the streets to voice support for Mondlane, hours before President Daniel Chapo was to sign an agreement with some political parties to end violence in the country.
Mondlane came second in the presidential vote that took place last year on October 9, but has been excluded from the talks leading up to the agreement.
Mozambique roiled by protests following disputed election last year
The presidential election on October 9 sparked violent protests last year, with the opposition having accused Chapo’s ruling Frelimo party of rigging the vote.
The country’s top court then ruled last year in December that the Frelimo party won the election.
But in its final tally, the Constitutional Council said Chapo had secured 65% of the vote, lower than the figure of more than 70% given by the electoral commission in late October.
Western observers, including the European Union, said the election was not free and fair. The EU said in a statement that it called on “electoral bodies for the maximum transparency of the counting and tabulation process.”
International rights groups say more than 100 people have been killed by security forces since protests began in October. Some local groups, like Plataforma Decide, put the death toll at more than 300.
The Frelimo party has been in power in Mozambique since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1975.
Edited by: Darko Janjevic
