At least 24 people were injured during clashes between demonstrators and the police on October 24 and 25 in Maputo, the Maputo Central Hospital (HCM), the country's largest hospital, announced today.
"On the 24th and 25th [of October] 24 patients who were victims of the protests were admitted to our services," said Dino Lopes, director of the Adult Emergency Service at HCM, during a press conference.
The official said that, of the total of 24 patients who were admitted to the country's largest hospital unit during the two days of protests called by presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, 14 have already been discharged from hospital.
"In the context of the protests, we had 10 hospitalizations during those two days, and of the 10 we still have a 41-year-old woman with a traumatic brain injury who is still in the emergency services in a very critical condition," said Dino Lopes.
The director of the Adult Emergency Service at HCM added that the other nine are still hospitalized in the different services of the hospital, with a stable clinical condition.
So far, Maputo Central Hospital has registered a cumulative of 40 patients resulting from clashes between police and protesters on 21, 24 and 25 October, the three days on which peaceful demonstrations called by Venâncio Mondlane took place.
The National Electoral Commission (CNE) of Mozambique announced on Thursday the victory of Daniel Chapo, supported by the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo, the party in power since 1975) in the election for President of the Republic on 9 October, with 70.67% of the vote.
Venâncio Mondlane, supported by the Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos, an extra-parliamentary party), came in second place, with 20.32%, but says he does not recognise these results, which have yet to be validated and proclaimed by the Constitutional Council.
Frelimo also strengthened its parliamentary majority, increasing its number of seats from 184 to 195 (out of 250), and elected all 10 provincial governors in the country.
In addition to Mondlane, the president of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo, the current largest opposition party), Ossufo Momade, one of the four presidential candidates, said that he did not recognize the election results announced by the CNE and called for the vote to be annulled.
On Thursday, presidential candidate Lutero Simango, supported by the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), also rejected the results, considering them to have been "forged in the secretariat", and promised "political and legal action" to restore the "popular will".
The announcement of the results by the CNE once again sparked violent protests and clashes with the police in Mozambique, especially in Maputo, by pro-Venâncio Mondlane demonstrators.
