MOZAMBIQUE'S MONDLANE TO TEMPORARILY HALT PROTESTS. (PHOTO).
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Mozambique's Mondlane to temporarily halt protests
Mozambique’s opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane said on Monday he is considering to call off protests for five days to allow entry of international organisations to investigate alleged human rights abuses by police, local media reported.
Mozambique has been gripped by weeks of violent protests since late October, when the electoral authority declared 47-year-old Daniel Chapo of the ruling FRELIMO the winner of the presidential election with 71% of the vote, defeating opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane with 20%.
Mondlane, who claims to have won the election, called for protests.
The Constitutional Council was then tasked with overseeing the case, and last week it affirmed that Chapo had won the vote but reduced his percentage to 65%. This caused fresh and more violent protests.
According to a report published by local news site Club of Mozambique, Mondlane will announce the next phase of new protests in the coming days.
Last month, South Africa temporarily closed its busy border crossing with Mozambique due to the ongoing post-election violence in the neighbouring country. Protesters torched vehicles on the Mozambican side of the Lebombo Port of entry.
On the weekend, local media reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa had sent Sydney Mufamadi as his special envoy to Mozambique to discuss escalating post-election violence that threatens regional stability.
At least 277 people have died since the protests started in the country, with most deaths caused by gunfire from security personnel, according to local elections monitoring group Plataforma DECIDE.
Last week, 33 people were killed when hundreds of inmates broke out of Maputo Central Prison in Matola, located about 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) from the capital. Police chief Bernardino Rafael confirmed that 1,534 prisoners had escaped, including 29 "highly dangerous" terrorists, raising serious security concerns.
The violence has forced about 3,000 people to flee the country to neighbouring Malawi.
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