MOZAMBIQUE
No Quarter
The murder of a local election observer – possible by police officers – has escalated concerns over an upcoming election that is expected to help Mozambique move past its violent history toward peace.
Election observer Anastácio Matavel was shot to death Monday after leaving a training session for observers in southern Gaza province, the Associated Press reported. Police officers are among the suspects.
The incident was the latest violence to mar the runup to the elections, said Human Rights Watch. More than 30 people have died since the start of the election campaign, and dozens more arrested, Agence France-Presse reported.
Meanwhile, the European Union election observer mission criticized party leaders for allowing the violence to occur silently, “without strong, clear and persistent condemnation.”
Mozambique will hold presidential elections Oct. 15 with President Filipe Nyusi running against the opposition Renamo party’s Ossufo Momade for a second term. The vote comes just two months after Nyusi and Renamo signed a permanent cease-fire to stop the violence that has flared in the 27 years since the end of the civil war.
That war killed an estimated 1 million people over 15 years.
Meanwhile, Mozambique continues to struggle to recover from two cyclones that struck earlier this year and killed more than 600, as well as attacks claimed by Islamic State and other extremist groups.
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