Police in Mozambique on Monday fired teargas to disperse a small crowd in Maputo, where shops had closed ahead of a planned protest against alleged electoral fraud.
According to videos posted on social media and an AFP reporter at the scene, heavily armed police patrolled the main street, causing several dozen people, including journalists, to scatter.
Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who was a candidate in the October 9 presidential election, organized the protest to challenge early results showing the ruling Frelimo party in the lead.
Tensions escalated after two of Mondlane’s associates were shot dead in Maputo on Saturday. Lawyer Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe, a candidate from the small Podemos party that supports Mondlane, were in a car when they were surrounded by other vehicles and then shot dead, according to witnesses.
The leader of the Podemos party, Albino Forquilha, confirmed the killings to AFP, while police stated that an investigation was underway but did not confirm the identities of the victims.
The European Union, African Union, and United Nations have condemned the incident and urged authorities to identify those responsible.
In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on “all Mozambicans, including political leaders and their supporters, to remain calm, exercise restraint, and reject all forms of violence.”
The head of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, expressed “deep concern” over “reported cases of post-election violence and in particular the recent killings.”
On Monday, Maputo appeared deserted, with shops closed and helicopters hovering over the city of around one million residents.
Mozambique, which is awaiting official presidential and parliamentary results this week, has a history of electoral violence. Last year, several people were killed in clashes following municipal elections.
