During November, the number of people killed in Mozambique’s post-election violence rose to 76, as clashes between protesters and the security forces worsened. The protests began in October, following the country’s disputed general election, and have been characterised by strikes, street demonstrations, roadblocks and public pot-banging, as well as looting and attacks on property and the police. The police, supported by the military, which was deployed at the beginning of the month, used highly repressive measures against the protesters, most notably shooting them with live ammunition. By 1 December at least 240 people had been struck by bullets, including several children who were shot dead during a pot-banging protest. Authorities also continued to suspend mobile internet services. While the demonstrations have been focused on the capital, Maputo, and the provinces of Nampula and Zambezia, they have taken place across the country.

Sources: International Crisis Group (1), Plataforma Eleitoral DECIDE, International IDEA, International Crisis Group (2), British Broadcasting Corporation, Access Now  

On 9 October, Mozambique held general elections to select the President and members of the unicameral Assembly of the Republic and the provincial assemblies. According to the provisional results announced by the National Elections Commission (Comissão Nacional de Eleições, CNE) on 24 October, the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (Frente de Libertação de Moçambique, FRELIMO) won 195 (78.0 per cent) of the 250 Assembly seats, followed by the Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique (Partido Otimista pelo Desenvolvimento de Moçambique, PODEMOS) (31 seats; 12.4 per cent), the Mozambique National Resistance (Resistência Nacional Moçambicana, RENAMO) (20 seats; 8.0 per cent) and and the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (Movimento Democrático de Moçambique, MDM) (4 seats; 1.6 per cent). The presidential election was won by FRELIMO’s candidate, Daniel Chapo who received 70.7 per cent of the vote. The runner up, with 20.3 per cent, was Venâncio Mondlane, an independent candidate supported by PODEMOS. Alleging electoral fraud, PODEMOS and other political parties appealed the general election results to the Constitutional Council (Conselho Constitucional, CC), the body charged with validating the results. Women candidates occupied the top spot in 30 per cent of the party lists for the parliamentary contests, but there were no women among the four presidential candidates. The CNE reported presidential election turnout to be 43.5 per cent (down from 51.8 in 2019) and 43.9 per cent in the parliamentary contest (down from 51.4 in 2019). International observers and analysts reported evidence of ballot stuffing, counting and tabulation irregularities and an inflated voters’ roll.

Sources: Comissão Nacional de Eleições, Mozambique Political Process Bulletin, Club of Mozambique, Conselho Constitucional, European Union (1),  European Union (2)

In the wake of Mozambique’s disputed 9 October poll, protesters clashed with police in deadly confrontations, as thousands took to the streets over alleged election fraud. On 16 October, presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane called for a nationwide shutdown on 21st  of the month, as allegations of serious election irregularities emerged from election observers. Tensions escalated in the wake of the apparent assassination of Mondlane’s elections lawyer, Elvino Dias, and a senior official from the Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique (Partido Otimista pelo Desenvolvimento de Moçambique, PODEMOS), Paulo Gwambe, who were shot dead in the capital Maputo on 19 October. The protests on 21 October (and those which followed on the 24th and 25th) were met with a heavy response from the police, who deployed armoured vehicles and fired tear gas and live ammunition to disperse the protesters. Some protesters threw rocks at the police, barricaded streets with burning tires and burned down public buildings. The authorities also shut down the internet. By 26 October, the police had killed at least 11 people.             

Sources: International Crisis Group, The Africa Report, British Broadcasting Corporation, Africa Confidential, Human Rights Watch, Mozambique Political Process Bulletin

Voter turnout in Mozambique’s presidential and parliamentary elections fell to a two-decade low. According to data from the National Election Commission (Comissão Nacional de Eleições, CNE), just 43.5 per cent of registered voters cast their ballot in the presidential election and the figure was only marginally higher for the parliamentary poll (43.9 per cent). Compared to the previous general election in 2019 (when turnout for the presidential election was 51.8 per cent and for the parliamentary elections it was 51.4 per cent), these represent declines of 8.3 and 7.5 percentage points, respectively. Analysts have ascribed the low turnout to various factors, including public distrust of electoral processes and institutions, the inflation of the voter’s roll with non-existent ‘ghost’ voters and, in the case of Cabo Delgado, the ongoing insecurity in the province.

Sources: Comissão Nacional de Eleições, International IDEA, Club of Mozambique, International Crisis Group, CIVICUS, Mozambique Political Process Bulletin, Al Jazeera, Centro de Integridade Pública

In early March, the UN Refugee Agency reported that over 100,000 people in Cabo Delgado Province had been displaced since February 2024, following a fresh wave of insurgent violence. The violence is part of an ongoing insurgency in Cabo Delgado, which began in 2017 and has seen militants target the state and civilians, although attacks were relatively limited in 2023. The attacks in February and early March were reported to have involved the beheading and abduction of civilians and the destruction of residential areas and community facilities, including schools, churches, and health centres. Ninety per cent of those displaced are women, people with disabilities and the elderly. According to analysts, both the attacks and the scale of the displacement highlight the weakness of security forces. 

Sources: United Nations (1), United Nations (2), Associated Press News, International Crisis Group, Instituto Marquês de Valle Flôr  

In March, the Mozambican Parliament ratified an extradition treaty with Rwanda that opposition law makers, human rights defenders and Rwandan refugees fear will be used by the Rwandan government to persecute critics of Rwandan president Paul Kagame. Critics of the treaty say that it is vulnerable to abuse by Kagame’s government, which is regularly accused of targeting opponents abroad, including in Mozambique, which hosts several thousand Rwandan refugees. In 2023 NGO Human Rights Watch reported that since 2021 at least three Rwandans residing in Mozambique had died or disappeared in suspicious circumstances, that two others had survived kidnappings and several more had received death threats from embassy officials. Legislators from both Renamo and the Mozambique Democratic Movement expressed concerns that the treaty would enable further persecution, a concern that Mozambique’s bar association described as ‘legitimate.’ The Rwandan government denies engaging in transnational repression and Mozambique’s Minister for Justice said that the agreement was intended only to target criminals.     

Sources: Jeune Afrique, The Africa Report (1), The Africa Report (2), Human Rights Watch, Agência de Informação de Moçambique  

Elections for the 65 municipal governments across Mozambique took place on 11 October. According to the official results from the National Election Commission (Comissão Nacional de Eleições, CNE) the ruling FRELIMO party won control of 64 of the 65 municipal governments. The main opposition party Mozambican National Resistance (Resistência Nacional Moçambicana, RENAMO) did not win the majority of the votes in any municipality, losing control of 8 municipalities they previously held. RENAMO has alleged massive fraud and filed a number of appeals with district courts and most of those cases now rest in the hands of the Constitutional Council, which is the body in charge of deciding electoral litigation in last instance as well as validating the final results. Renamo also called on its supporters to join demonstrations against the electoral results in some municipalities, especially in the capital city, Maputo, where Renamo alleges to have won. Police have responded to some demonstrations with force, using tear gas, firing automatic weapons into the air, and arresting dozens of people. At least two people are reported to have been killed. Civil society groups have suggested that there is evidence that votes were changed to benefit FRELIMO in several municipalities. On 28 November the Constitutional Council certified the electoral results in almost all municipalities, but mandated new electoral processes in four municipalities. 

Sources: Nascer do SOL, Centro de Integridade Pública, Voice of America, Africa Confidential, Human Rights Watch, Institute for Security Studies, Publico

Note: This report was updated on 12 December 2023 to take note of the ruling of the Constitutional Council.