South Africa closes its border again with Mozambique, where post-election violence worsens

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa closed its border with Mozambique shortly after opening it on Thursday as post-election violence in the neighboring country escalated, leading to clashes between protesters and the police.

Authorities also warned South Africans to postpone non-essential visits to Mozambique. Amnesty International said on Wednesday that at least 20 people have died and hundreds more have been injured and arrested since the beginning of the protests in late October.

The border was closed this week and partially opened earlier on Thursday to allow limited movement of trucks and vehicles stuck there, but the decision was quickly reversed.

Protesters in Mozambique, organized by opposition leaders and their supporters disputing the outcome of the Oct. 9 elections that saw the ruling Frelimo party extend its 49-year rule. Police have reportedly fired teargas to disperse protesters in the capital of Maputo.

Videos on social media sites belonging to opposition leader Venancio Mondlane show scores of young people marching toward Maputo and barricading streets with rocks and burning tires.

Mondlane, who came in second in the presidential election with 20% of the vote, has reportedly fled the country after two of his aides were killed before the results were announced.

South Africa’s Border Management Agency said it closed its side of the border after 15 employees from the Mozambican border post crossed over seeking refuge and protection.

“They say that the protesters are on the way and have just passed the area where they process the trucks and some of the travelers. They looted everything there, they took computers and they looted the trucks, the situation is just bad,” said agency commissioner Mike Masiapato.

South Africa's international relations minister, Ronald Lamola, called for calm and an end to the violence.

“South Africa expresses concern at the outbreak of incidents of post-electoral violence and regrets the loss of lives and destruction of property," Lamola said.

Internet services in Mozambique have been disrupted since last Friday.

The opposition has accused the ruling Frelimo of rigging the election in favor of its presidential candidate Daniel Chapo, who was declared the winner with more than 70% of the votes by the national Mozambique Electoral Commission.

While the commission declares the results, it is up to the Constitution Council to verify them and deal with any outstanding disputes, including those lodged by opposition parties Renamo and Podemos.

Mozambique authorities threatened this week to unleash the army to quell the protests, accusing the demonstrators of trying to overthrow a democratically elected government. Human rights groups have describes the government's handling of the protests as the worst crackdown in years.

A worker closes the border crossing to Mozambique, in Lebombo, South Africa, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. South Africa closed its border with Mozambique shortly after opening it on Thursday as post-election violence in the neighboring country escalated. (AP Photo)

Border officials inspect a burnt-out Mozambican border patrol vehicle at the border crossing in Lebombo, South Africa, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. South Africa closed its border with Mozambique shortly after opening it on Thursday as post-election violence in the neighboring country escalated. (AP Photo)

Protesters recover from tear gas fired by police in Maputo, Mozambique, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. Protesters dispute the outcome of the Oct. 9 elections, which saw the ruling Frelimo party extend its 49-year rule. (AP Photo/Carlos Uqueio)

A police officer aims his weapon at protesters in Maputo, Mozambique, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. Protesters dispute the outcome of the Oct. 9 elections that saw the ruling Frelimo party extend its 49-year rule. (AP Photo/Carlos Uqueio)

Police deploy amid opposition protests in Maputo, Mozambique, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. Protesters dispute the outcome of the Oct. 9 elections that saw the ruling Frelimo party extend its 49-year rule. (AP Photo/Carlos Uqueio)

Protesters disperse as police deploy in Maputo, Mozambique, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. Protesters dispute the outcome of the Oct. 9 elections, which saw the ruling Frelimo party extend its 49-year rule. (AP Photo/Carlos Uqueio)

A woman walks past a barricade set fire by protesters in Maputo, Mozambique, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. Protesters dispute the outcome of the Oct. 9 elections that saw the ruling Frelimo party extend its 49-year rule. (AP Photo/Carlos Uqueio)

Protesters fill the street as police deploy in Maputo, Mozambique, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. Protesters dispute the outcome of the Oct. 9 elections, which saw the ruling Frelimo party extend its 49-year rule. (AP Photo/Carlos Uqueio)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden's name wasn't on the ballot, but history will likely remember Kamala Harris' resounding defeat as his loss too.

As Democrats pick up the pieces after President-elect Donald Trump's decisive victory, some of the vice president's backers are expressing frustration that Biden's decision to seek reelection until this summer — despite long-standing voter concerns about his age and unease about post-pandemic inflation as well as the U.S.-Mexico border — all but sealed his party's surrender of the White House.

“The biggest onus of this loss is on President Biden,” said Andrew Yang, who ran against Biden in 2020 for the Democratic nomination and endorsed Harris’ unsuccessful run. “If he had stepped down in January instead of July, we may be in a very different place.”

Biden will leave office after leading the United States out of the worst pandemic in a century, galvanizing international support for Ukraine after Russia’s invasion and passing a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that will affect communities for years to come.

But having run four years ago against Trump to “restore the soul of the country,” Biden will make way after just one term for his immediate predecessor, who overcame two impeachments, a felony conviction and an insurrection launched by his supporters. Trump has pledged to radically reshape the federal government and roll back many of Biden's priorities.

“Maybe in 20 or 30 years, history will remember Biden for some of these achievements,” said Thom Reilly, co-director of the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy at Arizona State University. “But in the shorter term, I don’t know he escapes the legacy of being the president who beat Donald Trump only to usher in another Donald Trump administration four years later.”

The president on Wednesday stayed out of sight for the second straight day, making congratulatory calls to Democratic lawmakers who won downballot races and to Trump. Biden invited Trump for a White House meeting, and the president-elect accepted.

Biden is set to deliver a Rose Garden address Thursday about the election. He issued a statement shortly after Harris delivered her concession speech Wednesday, praising Harris for running an “historic campaign” under “extraordinary circumstances.”

Some high-ranking Democrats, including three advisers to the Harris campaign, expressed deep frustration with Biden for failing to recognize earlier in the election cycle that he was not up to the challenge. The advisers spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

Biden, 81, ended his reelection campaign in July, weeks after an abysmal debate performance sent his party into a spiral and raised questions about whether he still had the mental acuity and stamina to serve as a credible nominee.

But polling long beforehand showed that many Americans worried about his age. Some 77% of Americans said in August 2023 that Biden was too old to be effective for four more years, according to a poll by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs.

The president bowed out on July 21 after getting not-so-subtle nudges from Democratic Party powers, including former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California. Biden endorsed Harris and handed over his campaign operation to her.

Yang argued that Democratic Party leaders also deserve blame for taking too long to push out Bident. With few exceptions, most notably Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, Democrats shied away talking publicly about Biden's age.

“Why was this not coming from any Democratic leaders?" Yang said. “It’s a lack of courage and independence and an excess of careerism, if I just keep my mouth shut, we’ll just keep on trucking along.”

The campaign was also saddled by anger among some Arab American and young voters over its approach to Israel's conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an ally of Biden and Harris, said in a statement that Democrats lost the thread on working class Americans' concerns.

“Will the big money interests and well-paid consultants who control the Democratic Party learn any real lessons from this disastrous campaign?” the Vermont independent said. “Will they understand the pain and political alienation that tens of millions of Americans are experiencing?”

Harris managed to spur far greater enthusiasm than Biden was generating from the party's base. But she struggled to distinguish how her administration would differ from Biden's.

Appearing on ABC’s “The View” in September, Harris was not able to identify a decision where she would have separated herself from Biden. “There is not a thing that comes to mind,” Harris said, giving the Trump campaign a sound bite it replayed through Election Day.

The strategists advising the Harris campaign said the compressed campaign timetable made it even more difficult for Harris to differentiate herself from the president.

Had Biden stepped aside early in the year, they said, it would have given Democrats enough time to hold a primary. Going through the paces of an intraparty contest would have forced Harris or another eventual nominee to more aggressively stake out differences with Biden.

The strategists acknowledged that overcoming broad dissatisfaction among the American electorate about rising costs in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic and broad concerns about the U.S. immigration system weighed heavy on the minds of voters in key states.

Still, they said that Biden had left Democrats in an untenable place.

Harris senior adviser David Plouffe in a posting on X called it a “devastating loss.” Plouffe did not assign blame and said the Harris campaign “dug out of a deep hole but not enough.”

At the vice president's concession speech on Wednesday, some Harris supporters said they wished the vice president had had more time to make her pitch to American voters.

“I think that would have made a huge difference," said Jerushatalla Pallay, a Howard University student who attended the speech at the center of her campus.

Republicans are poised to control the White House and Senate. Control of the House has yet to be determined.

Matt Bennett, executive vice president at the Democratic-aligned group Third Way, said this moment was the most devastating the party has faced in his lifetime.

"Harris was dealt a really bad hand. Some of it was Biden’s making and some maybe not," said Bennett, who served as an aide to Vice President Al Gore during the Clinton administration. “Would Democrats fare better if Biden had stepped back earlier? I don't know if we can say for certain, but it's a question we'll be asking ourselves for some time.”

Associated Press writer Matt Brown contributed to this report.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris hugs President Biden during the Democratic National Convention Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

FILE - Vice President Kamala Harris listens as President Joe Biden speaks about distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, in the East Room of the White House, May 17, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)