Daniel Chapo says he will be “president of all” and calls for “non-violence” after weeks of protests against election fraud.
Mozambique’s elected president has called for “non-violence” and “unity” following widespread unrest this week sparked by his ruling party’s disputed election victory.
Daniel Chapo of the long-ruling Frelimo party said Friday he “deplores” the violence and vowed that he would be “the president of everyone” in the southern African country after his inauguration in mid-January, despite allegations of widespread voter fraud.
Chapo’s controversial victory in the October election – which was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Mozambique on Monday — sparked a week of unrest after months of protests.
This also led to thousands of Mozambican citizens fleeing to neighboring Malawi.
Roads were blocked and some shops and businesses were looted during the four days of protests called by opposition leader Venancio Mondlane this week. Amid the chaos also thousands of inmates freed from a prison in Maputo.
According to local non-governmental organization Plataforma Decide, about 134 people were killed during the week of unrest, bringing the total number of deaths since the election to at least 261.
Chapo said in his first public statement since the court decision that the most affected cities were the capital of Maputo, neighboring Matola, the central city of Beira and Nampula in the north.
“These acts only contribute to the decline of the country and the increase in the number of Mozambicans heading towards unemployment and poverty,” he said, adding that several police officers were killed in the clashes.
Frelimo has ruled Mozambique since the end of the war against Portuguese colonial rule in 1975.
However, the opposition led by Mondlane, which enjoys strong support among Mozambique’s young population, claimed the October 9 election was rigged.
International observers also pointed to voting irregularities in the controversial poll, which the Constitutional Council said Chapo won with about 65 percent of the vote.
Escape to Malawi
Amid post-election tensions, more than 2,000 Mozambican families sought refuge in Malawi this week, Malawian authorities said.
A senior Malawian official said that as of Wednesday, 2,182 Mozambican households fleeing violence had crossed into Malawi’s Nsanje district, which borders Mozambique.
“The situation remains serious as these individuals are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance,” Nsanje district commissioner Dominic Mwandira said in a letter to the country’s refugee commissioner, seen by Reuters.
A report from Maputo by Al Jazeera’s Haru Mutasa said regional leaders in Africa were ready to help Mozambique resolve its political crisis.
“Countries in the region need Mozambique because they rely on Mozambique’s ports. For example, the fuel that goes to Zimbabwe comes through Mozambique,” she said.
“(Regional countries) call on leaders in Mozambique to engage in dialogue… and resolve the unrest and political impasse in the country.”
