This archive report was first published on 20 November 2019.
On October 15, 2019, just as polling was about to open in Gaza province, southern Mozambique, 18 opposition monitors from the New Democracy party were arrested on allegations of holding false accreditation.
The incident has raised concerns over the credibility of the results of the presidential election, which saw incumbent Filipe Nyusi secure a new five-year term with his Frelimo party securing 73 percent of the vote.
The European Union and various local and international observer groups have questioned the results, citing the arrest of the opposition monitors as a worrying trend of suppression of democratic rights.
According to Amnesty International and other rights organizations, the detainees were denied access to lawyers and forced to confess to wrongdoing.
Party spokesman Quiteria Guirengane described the arrests as a scenario of political persecution and torture of democracy, stating, "It is a clear message that it is forbidden to be part of any party that is not the ruling party."
However, the Gaza provincial prosecutor's spokesman, Luis Vianeque, maintained that the 18 were arrested for holding false credentials, which is punishable by a sentence ranging from two to eight years in prison.
The election posed a major challenge to Mozambique's fragile peace agreement between Frelimo and Renamo, who fought a civil war from 1975-1992 that left one million dead.
