Election Riots in Mozambique Claimed the Lives of Ten Children: HRW

Security forces imprisoned hundreds of additional youngsters, some of them for days in breach of international law, since election results were published a month ago, the rights group said.

Despite accusations of fraud by the opposition and criticism of the vote by international observers, including a team from the European Union, the ruling party’s candidate was proclaimed the winner of the Oct. 9 election, leaving the southern African nation plagued by instability.

Authorities in Mozambique have not disclosed the number of individuals killed or arrested during the protests, but they have stated that security personnel had to put an end to some of the violent outbursts.

On October 24, Daniel Chapo was declared the victor of the election, continuing the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique party’s uninterrupted 50-year control since the country’s independence from Portugal in 1975. President Filipe Nyusi, who has served the maximum number of terms allowed, is expected to succeed Chapo.

Frelimo, a communist party, has frequently been charged with election manipulation to maintain its hold on power. The most immense challenge to Frelimo’s lengthy dominance has been these protests, albeit there were violent ones following the local elections last year. After unidentified gunmen assassinated two prominent opposition leaders in a late-night shooting on October 18 that their party described as a political assassination, riots broke out in the capital, Maputo, and other major cities.

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