Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Mozambican police force (PRM) has demanded that the mayor of the northern city of Nampula, Paulo Vahanle, be put on trial for alleged incitement to violence.
Vahanle was elected mayor on the ticket of the main opposition party, Renamo, and he was running for a further term of office in the 11 October municipal elections.
The preliminary results, announced by the National Elections Commission (CNE), claimed that the ruling Frelimo Party won in Nampula. But parallel counts, not only by Renamo, but also by reputable observer groups, show that, in reality Renamo won, and that Vahanle should therefore be declared re-elected.
At the weekend Vahanle made a speech at a municipal sports field in the neighbourhood of Muahivire, which the police have interpreted as “incitement”.
He displayed traditional weapons such as bows and arrows, and declared that, although Renamo has no guns, it is ready to use “rudimentary weapons” to fight against what it regards as fraudulent election results.
A Nampula police representative, cited in Monday’s issue of the independent daily “O Pais”, declared “as members of the police, we followed the statements on social media by the candidate Paulo Vahanle clearly instigating the population to commit a crime”.
But the police have made no attempt to arrest Vahanle. Instead the police spokesperson urged the institutions of justice, notably the Public Prosecutor’s Office, to take action against the Mayor.
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