International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola on Tuesday expressed concern over post-election violence in Mozambique. He denied that South Africa had made a mistake in congratulating the Frelimo party on its victory while waiting for the results to be confirmed.
As at least 30 people have died in the post-election unrest, Lamola stressed the need for calm, reiterating the call made by outgoing President Filipe Nyusi and President-elect Daniel Chapo.
While Chapo claims victory with more than 70% of the vote, Venâncio Mondlane of the Podemos party, who came in second with 20.3% of the vote, claims the election was rigged. His lawyer and chief of staff were assassinated as they planned to contest the results. Mondlane even fled to Johannesburg afterwards.
The South African Border Management Authority recently temporarily closed the Lembobo border post due to destruction on the Mozambican side. The Department of International Relations had issued a travel warning for Mozambique a week ago.
Lamola stressed the importance of maintaining relations with Mozambique to prevent conflicts from spilling over into South Africa. He also confirmed that the situation in Mozambique would be discussed at the SADC Extraordinary Organisation Troika Summit in Harare next week.
He also recalled that the Constitutional Council of Mozambique is the final legal body responsible for deciding objections to election results, and called on all parties to respect the court’s decisions.
Finally, Lamola stressed that it is common practice to congratulate election winners after the preliminary results are released, stressing that South Africa was simply respecting the process in place.
The current situation in Mozambique raises concerns about the political and economic stability of the country, which faces major challenges such as the Secret Debt scandal that led to a default in 2016. South Africa extradited former Finance Minister Manuel Chang to the United States last year for his involvement in the corruption scandal.
This complex situation highlights the importance of international relations and diplomacy in resolving conflicts and maintaining regional peace.