Mozambique police had on Monday shot teargas and bullets at protesters in the capital city, Maputo. According to reports, they had gathered at the scene where two opposition party figures were shot dead on Saturday after a disputed election.
Adriano Nuvunga, the director of Mozambique’s Centre for Democracy and Human Rights, had said that two journalists and a security guard were hit by bullets but were not seriously wounded.
A police spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.
While the full results of Mozambique’s October 9th national election are expected later this week, early results have shown that the ruling party Frelimo is braced for another win.
A fact the opposition candidates are not happy about as they’ve said the poll is rigged.
Frelimo has governed the southern African country since 1975 amidst accusations of electoral fraud by opposition leaders, civil society and election observers, all of which it has denied.
Mozambique’s electoral commission has refused to comment on accusations of fraud. U.S.-based observers reported that poll did not meet international standards for democratic elections, citing reports of vote buying, intimidation, inflated voter rolls and other issues.
Several hundred people partook in the protest, with some burning red Frelimo flags in the street and throwing rocks.
The use of live ammunition by Mozambican police during political protests is not a new phenomenon as they did so in the past year, when they defended the use of force as necessary to suppress violence.
Many businesses were reportedly closed in Maputo and downtown streets were quiet owing to the protests and police clampdown.
