Mozambique’s capital was tense Wednesday on the eve of a “freedom” march called by the opposition leader following weeks of protests against election results that have left at least 18 people dead.Shops and banks in central Maputo closed early and the streets were emptier than usual, while police and military vehicles were stationed at various points, AFP reporters said.About 1,000 people demonstrated in the afternoon in the city’s Patrice Lumumba neighbourhood in support of Thursday’s march called by opposition leader Venancio Mondlane.The southern African country has been locked in a political crisis since the election authority announced that the Frelimo party, in power since 1975, won the October 9 ballot with just over 70 percent.It said Mondlane took just 20 percent of the vote, which he rejects. Mondlane, who is in hiding, said he would be present at Thursday’s march, proclaiming it “our freedom day”.”Pretty soon all the protesting groups, in the neighbourhoods, should be with me downtown,” he said in a social media post.There has been a wave of protests by Mondlane supporters in several parts of the country since the vote, with police using teargas and live rounds to disperse demonstrators.At least 18 protesters had been killed, according to Human Rights Watch. Local NGO the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD), said its toll was 24 dead.A police officer was also killed in a protest at the weekend, Defence Minister Cristovao Chume told reporters Tuesday, warning the army could intervene “to protect the interests of the state”.”There is an intention to change the democratically established power,” he said, amid fears that outgoing President Filipe Nyusi could declare a state of emergency.- Bloodshed -The Mozambique Bar Association (OAM) told reporters Wednesday that there “are all conditions for a bloodbath” on Thursday.OAM lawyers had been able to free 2,700 people arrested — most of them detained illegally — for taking part in demonstrations, its president Carlos Martins told reporters.There were “serious deficiencies” in the election process and no guarantee that a recount would be accurate, he said. “Annulling elections is an option that must be on the table.”The Constitutional Council has to confirm the results issued by the National Election Committee (CNE) at least 15 days before the new government takes office, which is due on January 15.Nyusi is expected to step down at the end of his two-term limit and hand over to Daniel Chapo.The Constitutional Council also queried the CNE’s figures on Tuesday, asking it to explain a discrepancy in the number of votes at three ballots held at the same time. The ballots were for the presidential, legislative and provincial assemblies.The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, added to calls Wednesday for the right to peaceful assembly and expression to be respected.”The police must refrain from using unnecessary or disproportionate force and ensure that they manage protests in line with Mozambique’s international human rights obligations,” he said in a statement. Urging a halt to the violence ahead of Thursday’s march, Amnesty International called the crisis “the country’s worst crackdown on protests in years”.”The last two weeks in Mozambique have been marked by completely unnecessary bloodshed as authorities have tried to stop a peaceful protest movement with deadly force,” the rights group said in a statement.The government of South Africa, which shut one of its busiest borders with Mozambique Tuesday because of unrest, said Mozambique security agencies must bring the perpetrators of the killings to justice.There needs to be “calm and restraint, to allow the electoral process to conclude successfully,” it said.The governments of Britain, Canada, Norway, Switzerland and the United States also called in a joint statement for “all entities to show restraint while respecting the rule of law and human life”.
