Daniel Chapo was sworn in this Wednesday as the fifth Mozambican President. Protests broke out during the ceremony, where police fired on the demonstrators.
Daniel Chapo was sworn in this Wednesday as the fifth Mozambican President, in a ceremony that took place in the centre of Maputo under heavy security measures, with protests marked by violent clashes between police and demonstrators in the street. There were reports of several deaths in different parts of the country.
According to a survey by the Centre for Democracy and Development, at least six people died on Wednesday in Maputo and Matola, on the outskirts of the capital.
There are also reports of three deaths in Nampula, in the north of the country, which have not yet been confirmed. A journalist was also arrested while covering the demonstrations, said the non-governmental organisation.
On Wednesday, the police used gunfire and tear gas to demobilise a group of demonstrators who were protesting about the inauguration of Mozambican President Daniel Chapo, about 300 metres from the site of the inauguration in the centre of Maputo.
The strong police and military apparatus was already visible in Maputo city centre hours before the ceremony. Several arteries in the centre of the capital, close to the inauguration site in Independence Square, were closed to traffic by military personnel from the early hours of the morning. Operatives from the police’s Rapid Intervention Unit were also deployed throughout the city.
Daniel Chapo was sworn in this Wednesday in Maputo as the fifth Mozambican President, the first born since the country’s independence, at a ceremony attended by around 2,500 guests.
In his first speech as head of state, he called for unity in the country and said that ‘social and political stability is the priority of priorities’.
In his speech of almost 50 minutes, Daniel Chapo listed a number of reforms that he promised to implement as the country’s leader, including reducing the number of ministries, valuing public services, transforming the education system, making civil servants more accountable and creating new entities to manage the public administration.
In his last speech as outgoing Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi also called for unity around Daniel Chapo’s governance programme, arguing that it is the way to ensure the country’s development.
The current secretary-general of the Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo), Daniel Chapo was governor of Inhambane province when, in May 2024, he was chosen by the Central Committee to be the ruling party’s candidate to succeed Filipe Nyusi, who had served two terms as Mozambican President.
On 23 December, Daniel Chapo was proclaimed by the Constitutional Council as the winner of the Mozambican President election, with 65.17% of the votes, in the 9 October general elections, which included legislative and provincial assembly elections, which Frelimo also won.
Since the elections, the country has been in a climate of tension with demonstrations and protests called by Venâncio Mondlane, the presidential candidate of the opposition Podemos party, who does not recognise the election results.
At least 303 people have died and 619 have been shot and injured in post-election demonstrations in Mozambique since 21 October, according to a new report released on Wednesday by the electoral platform Decide. According to the report by this Mozambican NGO that monitors electoral processes, at least 4,228 people have been arrested.
Marcelo absent from inauguration
For the first time in years, Portugal will be sending a minister, rather than the Mozambican President, to the swearing-in ceremony of the new Mozambican President. Instead of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Paulo Rangel, the head of Portuguese diplomacy, will represent Portugal.
The results of the October elections have been contested, there are still doubts about the transparency of the vote counting process and there has been a very violent response to the protests against what the opposition says is ‘electoral fraud’.
International condemnation of the new Mozambican government is widespread. Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa and Umaro Sissoco Embaló of Guinea Bissau were the only heads of state to witness Daniel Chapo’s inauguration.
Marcelo attended all the CPLP inaugurations, except Equatorial Guinea’s, an absence that was interpreted as a ‘political signal’, as Público writes.
In the case of Mozambique, the tradition has been maintained for decades. Mário Soares attended the inauguration of Joaquim Chissano, Jorge Sampaio attended that of Armando Guebuza, and Cavaco Silva attended that of Nyusi.
Despite his absence, this Wednesday the Portuguese Mozambican President sent a message to the newly inaugurated Mozambican President, Daniel Chapo.
Marcelo evoked ‘the fraternal relations between our two peoples, and the essential role of the Mozambican community in Portugal and the Portuguese community in Mozambique’, as well as the ‘very solid ties of co-operation between the two sister states’.
In the message published on the Presidency’s website, he stresses that he hopes the new government will be guided by ‘building unity and stability, economic development, social justice, transparency, educational and cultural affirmation, safeguarding pluralism and inclusive community dialogue’.
The head of state stressed that these should be the answers to the ‘legitimate desires of various Mozambican political and social sectors, which everyone hopes will be realised in reality’.
The Mozambican President also said that he hopes to be present in the country ‘next June, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Mozambican independence’, assuring ‘all Mozambicans that they can always count on the Portuguese and on Portugal’.
Euronews