Mozambique’s opposition leader Venancio Mondlane returned from self-exile on Thursday, claiming victory in a hotly contested October election, but security forces later dispersed supporters who had gathered to welcome him. Tear gas was used to do so.
The controversial October 9 survey, which Mondlane says was rigged, has sparked demonstrations over the past few months that have left hundreds of protesters dead in the southern African country of 35 million.
Upon his return he told reporters at Maputo airport, “My return is not the result of any political agreement. My return is a unilateral decision to be in Mozambique.”
“I am here to prove that I did not leave Mozambique out of fear,” he said, ending a period of exile that had begun days after the vote, when Mondlane said that His life was in danger.
Mondlane’s return could intensify protests that have continued sporadically since the electoral commission declared victory in mid-October for the candidate of the ruling Frelimo party, extending its half-century in power.
The official winner of the presidential vote, Daniel Chapo, will be sworn in next week, marking another potential flashpoint in Mozambique’s political crisis.
Chapo and Frelimo have denied allegations of electoral fraud.
Despite officially winning only 20% of the vote, Mondlane reiterated his view that he was the true winner of the election.
“I, Venancio Mondlane, am the president elected by Mozambicans,” he said at the terminal, Bible in hand.
“Not by the Constitutional Council, not by the National Election Commission, but by the genuine will of the people.”
tear gas
Thousands of cheering supporters appeared near the airport to welcome him, before riot police armed with tear gas moved in to disrupt the gathering. A Reuters witness said snipers were deployed on buildings around the airport.
Civil society monitoring group Plataforma Decide said at least 278 people were killed in the post-election violence, which has also damaged businesses and disrupted border access with neighboring South Africa. Some people have fled to neighboring Malawi and Eswatini to escape the violence.
Mozambique’s top court confirmed Frelimo’s election victory in December – despite numerous reports from observers that it was not free and fair – sparking a new round of protests.
FRELIMO has ruled Mozambique since the end of the war against Portuguese colonial rule in 1975, enduring a 15-year civil war that left one million people dead before a 1992 ceasefire.
