Portugal’s foreign minister, Paulo Rangel, said on Monday that the Portuguese government continues to follow the situation in Mozambique ‘with great concern’ and called for restraint from all political forces and authorities in the country.
‘We are following the situation step by step, with great concern,’ said Paulo Rangel, referring to the latest developments in Mozambique, where in recent hours, demonstrations called by the opposition candidate in the 9 October elections, Venâncio Mondlane, have been dispersed by the police.
The Mozambican police also fired tear gas at the place where Venâncio Mondlane was speaking to journalists, forcing the politician to flee.
Paulo Rangel recalled that last week Portugal condemned ‘in a very categorical way’ the violence that led to the murders of Venâncio Mondlane’s legal advisor and trustee and has now called for restraint from ‘all the political forces and all the authorities’ to say ‘regularity and stability in the electoral process’.
‘It is fundamental for Mozambique that the electoral process runs smoothly and that it results in legitimate authorities that are respected by all,’ added the Portuguese minister, who was speaking to journalists in Madrid, where today he met with his Spanish counterpart, Jose Manuel Albares, and with the defence ministers of Portugal and Spain, Nuno Melo and Margarita Robles.
Rangel added that the latest developments in Mozambique are also worrying ‘because the press has been affected in its work’, reiterating that the government is following the situation with concern.
‘It is fundamental that the whole electoral process (…) takes place in an orderly, legal and regular manner. Mozambique has a democracy that needs to be affirmed,’ he emphasised, adding that, in this context, violence, “the need for police intervention”, riots or “interventions that could jeopardise stability” is something that “greatly concerns” the Portuguese government.
Venâncio Mondlane is claiming victory in the elections and has called for peaceful marches today following the double murder of his supporters.
Mozambican police have been dispersing protesters who want to repudiate Friday’s murder with tear gas since this morning.
On Saturday, the Mozambican police confirmed to Lusa that the car in which Elvino Dias, Venâncio Mondlane’s lawyer, and Paulo Guambe, a member of Podemos, the party that supports the candidate, were being shot dead, had been ‘ambushed’.
The general elections on 9 October included the seventh presidential election, as well as legislative elections and elections for provincial assemblies and governors.
The National Electoral Commission (CNE) has 15 days to announce the official results, a date that falls on 24 October. After that, the Constitutional Council will proclaim the results after analysing any appeals, but no deadline has been set for this.