Access to social networks and WhatsApp messages was interrupted on Thursday, October 31 in Mozambique, while the opposition called for new demonstrations during the day against the election results, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported early in the morning. . “We can confirm that restrictions have been imposed on social networks in Mozambique”NetBlocks, a London-based organization, then announced to AFP.
Last Friday, the country had already experienced a general Internet outage among the various mobile phone operators, which lasted several hours, the day after the announcement of the official results of the October 9 elections. These results immediately triggered demonstrations that ended with deaths in several cities, and the opposition denounced a vote ” stolen “.
Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, 50, backed by the small Podemos party, called for a national strike from Thursday to Thursday, November 7. Not knowing if your call to “paralyze” The country will be followed, the capital Maputo looked like a ghost town on Thursday morning.
Warnings against acts of “sabotage”
Police increased the number of text messages sent on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, including to an AFP correspondent, asking residents not to engage in violence. “sabotage”. The Attorney General also issued a statement warning that while the right to protest is a “fundamental right”, “any person who (…) causes material or personal damage will be punished ».
The electoral commission last week declared Daniel Chapo, 47, of the Frelimo party in power for forty-nine years, the winner of the elections with almost 71% of the votes. Venancio Mondlane, a former radio presenter who left Renamo, the historic opposition party, just a few months ago, came in second place with 20% of the votes, always according to official results.
The opposition filed an appeal on Sunday with the Constitutional Council, the country’s highest court, to demand a new recount of votes. On Wednesday, this court asked the electoral commission to transmit all the results of the electoral colleges of six of the eleven provinces, as well as those of the capital.
