Why post-election violence in Mozambique is a concern for Southern Africa

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A deepening political and social crisis in Mozambique will top the agenda of a regional summit this week called after the result of Oct. 9 elections led to weeks of violent protests and prompted the losing candidate to dispute the outcome.

At least 30 people are reported to have died during the post-election violence which flared following the victory of the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) candidate Daniel Chapo.

Venancio Mondlane, the independent candidate who came second with 20% of the national vote, has challenged the result and is calling for nationwide protests. International observers have cited irregularities in the election.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is holding a summit from Nov. 16 to 20 in Harare to discuss the situation in Mozambique.

Here’s why the issue is a concern for the wider region:

STABLE DEMOCRACIES AND CREDIBLE ELECTIONS

Mozambique’s disputed election result comes as several of its neighbors hold their own polls.

In Botswana, the ruling party was removed from power after 58 years in Oct. 30 polling and a smooth transfer of power took place within days.

In May, the ruling party in South Africa lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since 1994 and within weeks had formed a unity government with opposition parties.

Mauritius held elections on Nov. 10 in which the ruling party lost by a landslide. Namibia is expected to go to the polls later this month.

The European Union’s observer team has alleged irregularities in Mozambique’s election, including the altering of some results.

Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections were criticized by international observers over alleged irregularities. The European Union’s Election Observation Mission said the pre-polling environment and election day fell short of regional and international standards.

REGIONAL TRADE AND ECONOMY

Mozambique, which gained independence from Portugal in 1975, is a crucial part of regional trade in Southern Africa, sharing borders with South Africa, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Eswatini.

Instability in the country risks spilling over its border and creating problems for its neighbors, many of whom are dealing with the domestic challenges related to illegal migration.

South Africa closed its side of the Lebombo border that it shares with Mozambique in the wake of the recent protests. South Africa uses the Maputo harbor in Mozambique for some exports and the closure resulted in trucks transporting minerals to the harbor being stranded.

South Africa’s freight and rail association estimated that the closure of the border cost the South African economy at least 10 million rand ($550,000) each day that the border is closed.

The Minerals Council of South Africa estimates that 53% of the chrome ore and concentrate exported by South Africa in 2023 was exported through Maputo.

Mozambique has an abundance of mineral resources and its 2010 discovery of natural gas is expected to reignite its economy as it looks to be more involved with its neighbors in the energy sector.

POLITICAL STABILITY

Mozambique is still suffering from the effects of a 15-year civil war that ended in 1992 during which the leftist Frelimo fought against rebel movement Renamo.

The Oct. 9 election was the country’s first since 1994 to have no armed groups connected to any political party after a process to disarm militias. Mozambique has been fighting an Islamic State-affiliated group that has launched attacks on communities in the northern province of Cabo Delgado since 2017.

Around 600,000 of the 1.3 million people who fled have since returned home, many to shattered communities where houses, markets, churches, schools and health facilities have been destroyed, the United Nations said earlier this year.

Neighboring countries still host Mozambicans seeking work and economic opportunities, which means any further instability is likely to exacerbate further migration.

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)

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)

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)

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)

Why post-election violence in Mozambique is a concern for Southern Africa

Why post-election violence in Mozambique is a concern for Southern Africa

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)

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Hard-right Dutch political leader Geert Wilders on Wednesday blamed “Moroccans” for attacks on Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam last week, asserting that they “want to destroy Jews” and recommending the deportation of people convicted of involvement if they have dual nationality.

While lawmakers condemned antisemitism and agreed that perpetrators of the violence should be prosecuted and handed harsh punishments, opposition legislators accused Wilders of “pouring oil on the fire” and said his statements during a parliamentary debate were not conducive to “a better society.”

Violence erupted in the Dutch capital before and after last week's soccer match between Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Fans from both sides were involved in unrest; a number of Maccabi fans attacked a cab and chanted anti-Arab slogans while some men carried out “hit and run” attacks on people they thought were Jews, according to Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema.

After the match, parts of a large group of Maccabi supporters armed with sticks ran around “destroying things,” a 12-page report on the violence issued by Amsterdam authorities said. There were also “rioters, moving in small groups, by foot, scooter or car, quickly attacking Maccabi fans before disappearing,” it said.

Amsterdam police said five people were treated in hospital for injuries. Police detained dozens of people before the match, but there were no immediate arrests for violence after it.

On Wednesday night, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered on Amsterdam's central Dam Square to hold a demonstration despite a new city ban on such gatherings. Large numbers of police, including some on horseback, were present and detained most of the protesters after they refused to leave, escorting them mostly peacefully into two buses and driving them away from the square.

Reports of antisemitic speech, vandalism and violence have been on the rise in Europe since the start of the war in Gaza, and tensions were high in Amsterdam ahead of the soccer match. The assaults on Maccabi fans sparked outrage and were widely condemned as antisemitic.

The violence badly tarnished Amsterdam's long-held image as a haven of tolerance and sparked soul-searching across the country.

Wilders, whose anti-immigration Party for Freedom won elections last year and now is part of a four-party ruling coalition government, said Wednesday that on the night Amsterdam commemorated Kristallnacht, the 1938 anti-Jewish pogrom in Nazi Germany, “we saw Muslims hunting Jews on the streets of Amsterdam,” and blamed ”Moroccans who want to destroy Jews."

He gave no evidence. Police and prosecutors have not disclosed the identities of any of the suspects that were detained, in line with Dutch privacy rules.

Wilders advocated canceling the Dutch passports of people convicted of involvement in the violence — if they have a double passport — and deporting them.

Wilders, who is sometimes described as the Dutch Donald Trump because of his fierce anti-immigration rhetoric, has lived under round-the-clock protection for 20 years because of death threats from Islamic extremists. He has also long been a staunch supporter of Israel.

Some lawmakers warned that his new comments only served to deepen divisions in Dutch society.

Rob Jetten of the centrist D66 party said Wilders' rhetoric "does not contribute in any way to healing. In no way does he contribute to bringing our country together, but he throws oil on the fire and thus does not bring solutions against antisemitism and for a better society any closer, but only further away.”

Frans Timmermans, who leads the biggest center-left bloc in parliament, agreed.

“What you are doing is just stirring things up, dividing this country when this country needs politicians who bring people together, who bring solutions closer," Timmermans said.

In Amsterdam, a prominent Jewish member of the City Council, Itay Garmy, said that although there’s a lot of anger and fear within the Jewish community, inflammatory remarks wouldn’t help.

“Don’t use my security or my suffering or my fear as a Jew to create political gains for yourself and make your points about integration, migration or Muslim hate,” Garmy said.

Associated Press writer Bram Janssen in Amsterdam contributed to this report.

Police forces leave the Dam square after shutting down a pro-Palestinian protest at the square in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

Pro-Palestinian supporters protest in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, despite a city ban on such gatherings. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

Pro-Palestinian supporters protest in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, despite a new city ban on such gatherings. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

A pro-Palestinian protestor is arrested by police at a demonstration in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

Pro-Palestinian supporters protest in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, despite a city ban on such gatherings. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

Pro-Palestinian protestors are arrested by police at a demonstration in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

A pro-Palestinian protestor holds a Palestinian flag at a demonstration in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, despite a city ban on such gatherings. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

Pro-Palestinian supporters protest in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, despite a city ban on such gatherings. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

Pro-Palestinian supporters protest in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, despite a city ban on such gatherings. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

Pro-Palestinian supporters protest in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, despite a city ban on such gatherings. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

In this image taken from video, police in riot gear run towards protesters, after pro-Palestinian supporters marched near the soccer stadium, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (RTL Nieuws via AP)

In this image taken from video, a group of pro-Palestinian protesters walk toward police line, with police vans driving in the background, near the soccer stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (RTL Nieuws via AP)

In this image taken from video, police in riot gear run towards protesters, after pro-Palestinian supporters marched near the soccer stadium, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (RTL Nieuws via AP)

Dutch lawmaker Wilders wants to deport those convicted of violence against Israeli soccer fans

In this image taken from video, a group of pro-Palestinian protesters walk toward police line, with police vans driving in the background, near the soccer stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (RTL Nieuws via AP)

Dutch lawmaker Wilders wants to deport those convicted of violence against Israeli soccer fans