EU says Mozambique election results were tampered with

Election observers working for the European Union say some voting results have been tampered with as unrest continues to intensify in Mozambique.

Thousands of people took part in an opposition protest called by independent presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane on Monday.

He blamed the security forces Shot his lawyer Elvino Díaz and another political official named Paulo Guambe in the same car on Friday – but they denied any wrongdoing.

The official results of the October 9 general election will be announced on Friday.

Evidence of “irregularities in the counting of votes at polling stations and district levels and unreasonable alteration of the election results” has been found, The EU observer mission said in a statement on Tuesday.

It now urges “electoral bodies to conduct the tabulation process in a transparent and credible manner, ensuring the traceability of polling station results”.

The U.S.-based International Republican Institute, which also dispatched a multinational election observation mission to the southern African country, reported vote-buying, voter roll inflation in the ruling Frelimo stronghold and voter intimidation.

Mozambique’s national election results were supposed to be published on the electoral commission’s website for all to see, but the agency said last month that its website had been hit by a cyberattack. The website is still inactive.

Presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, 50, who is backed by the opposition Podemos party, has declared victory and claimed the killing of his aide on Friday night was politically motivated.

“This is a crime committed by the defense and security forces. There is no doubt about it. Special forces killed Elvino [Dias]”, he said.

Mondlane rallied people in cities across Mozambique to protest the massacre and what he said was the theft of the election.

On Monday, police used live ammunition, tear gas, armored vehicles and police dogs to drive away protesters at the scene in the capital Maputo, where Díaz and Guanbe were shot dead.

Demonstrators also blocked roads with burning tires and barricades.

The video shows Mondlane and reporters running away after shots were fired in their direction.

Local media reported that many people were arrested and at least 16 people were injured and taken to hospital in the cities of Maputo, Beira and Nampula.

Shops and businesses were closed on Monday but began reopening on Tuesday.

Diaz’s funeral is scheduled for Wednesday. Mondlane called for further protests on Thursday and Friday.

Mozambican authorities are under increasing pressure to identify the killers and bring them to justice, following strong condemnation from former Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, the United Nations, the United States and the European Union.

Prominent Mozambican writer Mia Couto called the killings “crimes against the state.”

Mozambique has historically been governed by just one political party – Frelimo – since independence from Portugal.

The country is certain to have a new president, as President Filipe Nyusi is stepping down at the end of his term.

Frelimo candidate is 47-year-old Daniel Chapo.

His rivals in this election are Mondlane, former rebel commander and leader of the main opposition Resistance party Osufo Momade and Lutro Simango of the Mozambican Democratic Movement .