Daniel Chapo of Mozambique’s long-ruling Frelimo party was sworn in as president Wednesday in a poorly attended ceremony, following months of protests over his disputed election victory.
According to a local civil society monitoring group, more than 300 people have been killed in clashes with security forces since the October 9 vote, which the opposition says was won by Frelimo thanks to fraud elections and which, according to Western observers, was not free and fair.
Frelimo denies accusations of electoral fraud.
He has ruled Mozambique since the end of the war against Portuguese colonial rule in 1975, hanging on throughout a 15-year civil war that left a million dead before a truce in 1992.
Chapo told a group of about 1,500 supporters from a stage in the capital Maputo that social and political stability would be his government’s top priority.
He also promised to reduce the size of government by reducing the number of ministries, tackle youth unemployment and prioritize health and education.
-The city center was largely deserted, with a heavy police and army presence, according to Reuters witnesses.
Cyril Ramaphosa, president of neighboring South Africa, was one of the few heads of state to attend Mr Chapo’s inauguration.
Opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who according to official results came second to Chapo in the presidential election, returned from self-imposed exile last week and urged his supporters to continue protesting.
The post-election protests are the largest in Mozambique’s history against Frelimo and have affected foreign companies operating in the resource-rich southern African country of 35 million people. They have also disrupted cross-border trade and forced some to take refuge in neighboring countries.
Morocco
