Mozambique opens new parliament amid opposition protests and boycott | News about the protests

Mozambique has sworn in its new parliament as the capital’s streets are largely deserted after the opposition leader called for a strike to protest the results highly contested elections.

Two smaller opposition parties boycotted Monday’s opening ceremony because they refused to accept the outcome of October’s election, while incoming president Daniel Chapo called for calm and unity after months of deadly unrest.

Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who is popular among Mozambique’s marginalized youth, claims the results were rigged in favor of Chapo’s Frelimo party, which has been in power for 50 years.

He called on his supporters over the weekend to “show their rejection” of the official election results by striking nationally from Monday until Wednesday when Chapo is due to be sworn in as president.

Military police surrounded the parliament building and police blocked the main roads leading to the area during the inauguration ceremony.

The city center, which is usually busy on a Monday morning, was deserted with most shops closed and protesters at barricades in certain areas, the AFP news agency reported.

Al Jazeera reporter Fahmida Miller, reporting from the Matola district, an opposition stronghold in Maputo, said people were trying to block the main road leading into the center of the capital.

“The aim here of the people who are trying to block the road with burning tires, stones – sometimes they throw stones too – is to stop people going back and forth on this road and this is part of the strategy to stop Maputo,” she said. he said.

Chapo and outgoing president Filipe Nyusi were present as parliamentarians from Freli, which won 171 seats, and the Podemos party – which has 43 – were sworn in to the 250-seat national assembly.

Renam’s 28 deputies and eight from MDM were absent in protest.

The opening of parliament “represents social anger and a lack of respect for the will of Mozambicans” who were deprived of “free, fair and transparent” elections, a Renamo spokesman told reporters on Sunday.

The MDM said it was boycotting to show its agreement with demands for “electoral truth”.

Official results gave Chapo 65 percent of the presidential vote compared to 24 percent for Mondlane.

But the opposition leader claims he won 53 percent and that Mozambique’s electoral institutions manipulated the results.

Mondlan returned to Mozambique on Thursday after hiding abroad following the killing of his lawyer on October 19.

Thousands of cheering supporters gathered in the city center to welcome him, sparking clashes with security forces in which at least three people were killed, according to an election monitor.

Unrest since election day on October 9 has claimed around 300 lives, according to a local human rights group, and security forces have been accused of using excessive force, including live ammunition, against protesters.

According to the authorities, police officers were also killed.

The unrest caused heavy losses to the Mozambican economy, halting cross-border trade and affecting shipping, mining and industry.

If “the assembly takes the oath, it is a betrayal of the will of the people,” Mondlane, 50, said via Facebook late Saturday.

“Let us protest against the inauguration of those who betrayed the will of the people on Monday and against those who stole the will of the people on Wednesday,” he said.

Ahead of the opening of parliament, 48-year-old Chapo told reporters that Mozambique needs stability and unity.

With the new parliament, “we can continue to work together, united … to develop our country,” he told reporters, calling for an “open, honest discussion.”

There have been several calls for dialogue to resolve the impasse, but Mondlane has been excluded from talks Chapo and Nyusi have begun with the leaders of the main political parties.

After landing in Maputo on Thursday, Mondlane reiterated that he was ready for dialogue. “I’m here live to say that if you want to negotiate … I’m here,” he said.