Chapo of Mozambique was sworn in as president following a contentious election

In a ceremony that was barely attended, Daniel Chapo, the leader of Mozambique’s long-ruling Frelimo party, was sworn in as president on Wednesday following months of demonstrations against his contested election victory.

Since the October 9 referendum, which the opposition claims Frelimo won through vote-rigging and Western observers claim was not free and fair, skirmishes with police forces have claimed the lives of over 300 people, according to a local civil society monitoring group.

Election fraud allegations are refuted by Frelimo.

After the battle against Portuguese colonial control ended in 1975, it remained in power in Mozambique for 15 years, killing a million people till a truce was reached in 1992.

From a stage in Maputo’s capital, Chapo said to a crowd of around 1,500 supporters that his government’s first focus will be social and political stability.

Along with tackling young unemployment and prioritizing health and education, he also pledged to reduce the number of ministries and reduce the size of the government.

Reuters reported that the city center was mainly empty and heavily guarded by the army and police.

The president of neighboring South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, was among the few heads of state who attended the inauguration of Chapo.

Official results indicate that Chapo won the presidential race, but opposition leader Venancio Mondlane, who returned from self-imposed exile last week, has urged his followers to keep protesting.

Foreign companies working in the resource-rich, 35 million-person southern African nation of Mozambique have been impacted by the anti-Frelimo rallies, which are the biggest anti-Frelimo demonstrations in the country’s history.

Along with forcing people to leave to nearby nations, they have also interfered with cross-border trade.