By Tim Cocks
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -Gunmen killed a Mozambique opposition lawyer and a celebration official after firing a number of rounds at a automotive during which they have been travelling on Saturday, rights teams mentioned, ratcheting up tensions forward of protests towards a disputed election end result.
New opposition get together Podemos and its presidential aspirant Venancio Mondlane reject provisional outcomes exhibiting a possible win for Frelimo – the get together that has dominated Mozambique for half a century – and its candidate Daniel Chapo.
They’ve referred to as for a nationwide strike on Monday.
Mozambican civil society election observer group Extra Integrity mentioned the assault occurred within the Bairro Da Coop neighbourhood of the capital Maputo, killing Podemos lawyer Elvino Dias and get together consultant Paulo Guambe.
Human Rights Watch and Mozambique’s Middle for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD) additionally issued statements confirming the assault.
“They were brutally assassinated (in a) cold-blooded murder,” Adriano Nuvunga, CDD director, informed Reuters by phone.
“The indications that around 10 to 15 bullets were shot, and they died instantly,” he added, describing it as a “message” to opposition protesters planning to convene on Monday.
The European Union and Mozambique’s former colonial ruler Portugal condemned the killing and referred to as for an investigation.
Later, within the night, Frelimo’s candidate Chapo condemned the assault as an “affront to the principles of …democracy that we must all defend”.
Mondlane’s rise to develop into Mozambique’s predominant challenger was a risk to Frelimo, but in addition to former official opposition get together Renamo – as soon as a insurgent outfit backed by racist white regimes in South Africa and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) through the Chilly Struggle.
Alex Vines, Africa programme director at London-based worldwide affairs assume tank Chatham Home, referred to as the killing a “serious escalation” that raised tensions forward of Monday’s strike.
Western observers have forged doubt on the credibility of the ballot, noting stories of vote shopping for, intimidation, inflated voter rolls and poor transparency in collation – issues which have marred most polls since Frelimo launched democracy in 1994 after 20 years in energy.
Full outcomes are anticipated on Oct. 24, however many worry Monday’s protest may flip bloody. Mozambique’s safety forces have opened hearth on protesters, together with after final 12 months’s native elections, rights teams say.
