Southern African bloc ready to assist Mozambique

JOHANNESBURG

Zimbabwean President and chairperson of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Emmerson Mnangagwa, has expressed the regional bloc’s readiness to support the incoming government and people of Mozambique in consolidating their electoral democracy.

In a statement posted on X Thursday, President Mnangagwa acknowledged the ruling made by the Constitutional Council on Monday, which confirmed Daniel Chapo of the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) as the winner of the October 9 presidential election.

Mozambique has been gripped by violent protests since late October, when the electoral authority declared 47-year-old Chapo as the winner with 71% of the vote, defeating opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane of the Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos), who received 20%.

Mondlane rejected the results, accusing widespread vote rigging and urging his supporters to protest. The Constitutional Council was tasked with overseeing the case.

Fresh protests erupted on Monday after the Constitutional Council’s ruling, which confirmed Chapo's victory but adjusted his winning percentage from 71% to 65%.

According to Plataforma DECIDE, an election monitoring group, at least 248 people have lost their lives in the 65 days since the protests began.

On Wednesday, 33 people were killed when hundreds of inmates broke out of Maputo Central Prison in Matola, located about 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from the capital. Police chief Bernardino Rafael confirmed that 1,534 prisoners had escaped, including 29 "highly dangerous" terrorists, raising serious security concerns.

- SADC expects parties to abide by court decision

Mnangagwa emphasized that the Constitutional Council's ruling completes the lawful process of determining election results in line with Mozambique's national laws and SADC’s election guidelines.

“SADC thus expects all parties to the electoral process, both individually and collectively, to abide by the decision of the Council, which should provide a constitutional way forward for the country and facilitate the way to greater peace, normalcy, and stability in the interest of all Mozambicans,” he stated.

The president also urged the international community to respect Mozambique’s sovereignty and the will of its people, calling on all parties to support peace, law, and order, which the country urgently needs.

“Our region has witnessed a record number of national elections in the last two years, a testament to the deepening roots and flourishing of democracy in our SADC region,” Mnangagwa added.

Meanwhile, thousands of Mozambicans have fled the ongoing violence to neighboring Malawi, government officials told Anadolu on Thursday.

Dominic Mwandira, a senior official in Malawi's Nsanje district, which borders Mozambique, confirmed that around 2,000 households have crossed into Malawi since Monday.

“They are coming as families, and we have, so far, sheltered them in schools waiting for proper arrangements. The number is likely to rise,” Mwandira said in a phone interview with Anadolu.