Vote protests rock Mozambique opposition stronghold

MAPUTO - Security forces in Mozambique opened fire Wednesday to disperse hundreds of supporters of opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane, according to videos on social media and Mondlane, who claims to have won elections a week ago.

"Three young people were wounded by live ammunition, one of them seriously as he was hit in both legs," said Mondlane in a video posted on social media on Wednesday night.

The number of casualties could not be verified independently, and police did not confirm any injuries.

Mondlane and several hundred supporters had marched through the northeastern city of Nampula earlier to protest an announcement by election authorities Monday that the ruling party Frelimo had won the 9 October vote in Nampula province with 66%.

The province, the largest in Mozambique, is an opposition stronghold. A police officer was killed in demonstrations in Nampula last year after Frelimo was declared to have won municipal elections.

The elections in the impoverished country were for president, parliament and provincial governors and are widely expected to return power to Frelimo, which has governed since independence from Portugal 49 years ago.

Nationwide official results are due 24 October.

Mondlane, backed by the small Podemos party, claimed victory almost immediately after polling day.

He has called a nationwide strike for 21 October against what he has alleged was massive fraud.

Videos posted on Mondlane's Facebook account showed him in Nampula city, 1,400 kilometres northeast of Maputo, surrounded by people chanting "Venancio, Venancio".

Other videos on the same account later showed demonstrators carrying stones and then taking shelter as shots rang out.

"The march began at 8:00 am [0600 GMT]... after the arrival of Venancio Mondlane in the city of Nampula," Ivaldo Nazare, civil society activist in the town, told AFP.

The police and army were out in force, he said.

"They started shooting to disperse the crowd and shot and injured two young men," he said earlier.

A video of crowds in Nampula posted on social media showed a bleeding man in a vehicle. The circumstances around the incident could not be confirmed.

At a press conference, police spokesman Gilberto Inguane did not confirm any injuries.

"We also found out about this through videos on social media, but we still need to check what happened," he said.

Police used "dispersal methods" after demonstrators hurled stones at them and burned tyres, Inguane said, adding that four people had been arrested.

The Mozambique attorney general warned Mondlane on Tuesday that claiming victory before official results were announced could incite social unrest and was against the constitution.

According to Mondlane's count, posted on social media, he won 53% of the votes in the presidential election as of Tuesday, with 67% of ballots counted, versus 36% for Frelimo candidate Daniel Chapo.