According to a global internet watchdog, access to social media in Mozambique was restricted again on Thursday as opposition leaders called for nationwide strikes in response to a disputed presidential election.
Tensions increased in the southern African country following the declaration of Frelimo party’s victory in the October 9 election, which opposition parties and electoral observers claimed was flawed. Frelimo Party has ruled Mozambique for 49 years.
“We can confirm social media restrictions have been imposed in Mozambique,” London-based internet watchdog NetBlocks said, adding it affected Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Last Friday, a temporary internet blackout was enacted, just a day after the electoral commission announced the election results and protests were forcefully quelled. NetBlocks reported then that there was a “near-total disruption to mobile internet connectivity in Mozambique.”
On October 24, 47-year-old Daniel Chapo of Frelimo party was declared the winner of the presidential election, receiving nearly 71% of the votes.
Opposition leader of the Podemos party, Venancio Mondlane,50, came second with 20% of votes.
Following the announcement, law enforcement cracked down on opposition supporters who gathered in the streets to protest.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), security forces killed 11 people and over 50 were injured on October 24 and 25.
However, police reported only two deaths and 20 injured persons after the post-election violence without further details.
An investigation into Mondlane’s whereabouts was opened following the unrest that ensued after the election.
However, the former radio host turned politician used social media to engage with his followers, urging them to protest, and he has once more called for a countrywide strike from October 31 to November 7.
It was uncertain whether his call to “paralyse” the country from northern Cabo Delgado to Maputo, situated over 2,400 kilometres (approximately 1,500 miles) away, would be heeded, but the capital was deserted on Thursday.
On Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, police distributed text messages, including one to an AFP reporter, advising citizens not to engage in any acts of “sabotage.”
The public prosecutor also issued a statement saying that while it was a “fundamental right” to protest, “anyone who… causes material or personal damage shall be punished.”
Podemos party president Albino Forquilha said Thursday he would “do everything to ensure that there is no violence” during the planned week-long strike, “but we need to fight for justice”.
Election monitors, including those from the European Union, have reported serious irregularities before, during, and after the election.
Mondlane and his Podemos party filed a request for a ballot recount with the Constitutional Court on Sunday. The court has subsequently asked the electoral commission for results sheets and records from polling stations in six provinces and Maputo, allowing them eight days to provide the requested documents.