By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in Mozambique on Wednesday where he will attend the inauguration of president-elect Daniel Chapo.
Chapo (48) will be sworn into office after weeks of deadly political unrest but the main opposition leader has vowed to “paralyse” the country with fresh protests against the fiercely disputed election result.
International observers have said the election was marred by irregularities, while the EU mission condemned what it called the “unjustified alteration of election results”.
However, the presidency’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya believes Chapo’s inauguration provides an opportunity for Mozambicans “to work together towards peace, democracy and development.”
“Ramaphosa is looking forward to working closely with president-elect Chapo in further strengthening the existing strong fraternal relations between the two countries and looks forward to seeing Mozambicans come together in the spirit of unity and cooperation as they build a brighter future,” Magwenya added.
Venancio Mondlane had already called for a national strike in the days leading up to the inauguration and threatened on Tuesday to curtail the new government with daily demonstrations.
Mondlane, 50, who is popular with the youth, maintains the October 9 polls were rigged in favour of Chapo’s Frelimo party, which has governed the gas-rich African country since independence from Portugal in 1975.
“This regime does not want peace,” Mondlane said in an address on Facebook Tuesday, adding that his communications team was met with bullets on the streets this week.
“We’ll protest every single day. If it means paralysing the country for the entire term, we will paralyse it for the entire term.”
Chapo called for stability on Monday, telling journalists at the national assembly “we can continue to work and together, united… to develop our country”.
The unrest since the election has claimed 300 lives, according to the group’s tally, with security forces accused of using excessive force against demonstrators. Police officers have also died, according to the authorities.
Chapo, who is expected to announce his new government this week, could make concessions by appointing opposition members to ministerial posts to quell the unrest.