Mozambique’s new leader Daniel Chapo, who was inaugurated Wednesday, faces quelling deadly protests over his election, which his rivals say was stolen, as his first political test as president.Until his Frelimo party tapped him as its candidate in the October polls, Chapo was a little-known provincial governor with no national experience.At the age of 48, he becomes the first president to be younger than his nation. Officially, he won 65 percent of the vote but opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane insists the vote was rigged. Frelimo, once a Marxist party, has ruled since Portuguese colonisers left in 1975. It has survived one of the world’s most brutal civil wars, repeated claims of election fraud and a financial scandal that tanked the economy.Chapo now faces a young population, furious that they remain among the poorest in the world while his party’s leaders have gathered jaw-dropping wealth. In 2020, Mozambique attracted Africa’s single largest foreign investment in offshore gas fields. Rather than ease poverty, ordinary Mozambicans have got poorer.That resentment helped fuel unrest that erupted after the October election. More than 300 people have died, including many opposition protesters killed by security forces, according to a local NGO.Responding to the unrest, Chapo on Wednesday vowed to unite the country in his inaugural address with political dialogue and the establishment of a police watchdog. “We won’t rest until we have a united and cohesive country on the road to building well-being for all of us,” he said. “Social and political stability is our top priority.”- Juggling crises -Tall and slim, Chapo succeeded Filipe Nyusi, who had reached his two-term presidential limit.Chapo is the first president not to have been a Frelimo fighter during the independence struggle or an ensuing 16-year civil war that claimed a million lives.However, he does have experience in local government in the town of Palma — home to a natural gas find — where fighters who claim links to the Islamic State group have waged deadly attacks since 2017.While Mondlane has threatened to “paralyse” the country with daily protests, Chapo has repeatedly said that he’s ready to talk with “everyone”.He is already juggling multiple crises, flying to the north of the country where Cyclone Chido last month killed 120 people and Cyclone Dikeledi hit this week.A fresh face meant to capture the support of disenchanted youth, Chapo was likely the pick of former Mozambican presidents Armando Guebuza and Joaquim Chissano and less so his predecessor Nyusi, analysts said. “There’s not a lot of love between Chapo and Nyusi,” Maputo-based political and security risk analyst Johann Smith told AFP.- Fighting terrorism -A balding former political science lecturer, Chapo has a law degree and has worked as a radio presenter. He made thwarting attacks in northern Cabo Delgado province one of his campaign promises. The conflict has displaced more than a million people and killed over 5,800. French giant TotalEnergies has frozen one of its projects, jeopardising the future of the gas fields.”We will continue to work so Mozambique stays a country of peace, including in Cabo Delgado,” Chapo said at the final rally. “We want to continue fighting against terrorism.”Chapo, who was appointed governor of the southern province of Inhambane in 2016, also promised the construction of schools and hospitals and a more robust economy.He presented himself as the candidate of unity, promising to “work with every layer of society, youth, women, men and veterans”.
