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JOHANNESBURG At least 50 people were injured amid fresh violent protests in Mozambique after the Constitutional Council announced Monday that Daniel Chapo of the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) had won the contested presidential election on October 9. Supporters of opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane were outraged by the announcement and began protesting Monday night. According to local media reports, at least 50 protesters were injured with gunshot wounds during Monday and Tuesday's protests and have been admitted to Maputo Central Hospital in the capital city. Protesters have also been accused of attacking and vandalizing police stations, gas stations, bank branches, and other public facilities. On Monday, a seven-judge bench of the Constitutional Council upheld an earlier announcement by the country’s electoral commission confirming that Frelimo’s Chapo had won the Oct. 9 polls but reduced his win margin from 71% of the vote to 65%. Mozambique has seen violent protests since late October, when the electoral authority declared the 47-year-old Chapo as the winner of the Oct. 9 election, defeating opposition candidate Venancio Mondlane of the Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos), who received 20%. Following the announcement by the Constitutional Council, Mondlane asked supporters on social media to brace themselves for "difficult days ahead." “History is made of thorny, rocky moments, but the truth is that victory is guaranteed for all of us,” Mondlane wrote on Facebook, encouraging people to continue protesting. More than 130 people have been killed since protests began on Oct. 21, according to rights and civil society groups. These groups have also accused Mozambican security forces of using excessive violence to quell the protests. Calls for calm Meanwhile, neighboring South Africa on Tuesday urged all parties in Mozambique to exercise restraint and calm. Pretoria also asked them to commit to urgent dialogue, saying it is concerned over the ongoing violence and subsequent disruptive protests following the Constitutional Council announcement of the election results. “South Africa is ready to assist Mozambique in any manner to facilitate this dialogue,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The ministry said it will continue to work with the regional bloc Southern African Development Community (SADC) and other multilateral agencies to find a lasting solution to the current impasse in Mozambique. Last week, South African ministers spoke with a delegation of Mozambican counterparts about the violent post-election protests and their impact on both economies.The Congress will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Belagavi session of the party that was presided over by Mahatma Gandhi with an extended session of the CWC, which will decide on an action plan for the next year with two resolutions. A two-day "Nav Satyagrah Baithak" programme is being organised by the party from December 26. Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in the national capital, along with party leader Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary organisation K.C. Venugopal said, “To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the historic session, we are hosting an extended CWC meeting Nav Satyagrah in Belagavi. The CWC meeting will take place at the same venue where Mahatma Gandhi Ji assumed the presidency of the Indian National Congress.” Mr Venugopal said a total of almost 200 leaders, including CWC members, permanent invitees, special invitees, central election committee members, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) members, CLP leaders of the state, parliamentary party office bearers and former chief ministers of the party, will attend the historic session. “At 2.30 pm on December 26, the Nav Satyagrah Baithak meeting will start at Mahatma Gandhi Nagar. On 27th December, the Jai Bapu, Jai Bheem, Jai Samvidhan rally will be held in Belagavi at 11.30 am. Members of Parliament from the Congress party, AICC functionaries and lakhs of Congress workers will participate in the rally at Mahatma Gandhi Nagar,” the senior Congress leader said. Mr Venugopal also said the Congress has strongly taken up the issue of the “insult" of Ambedkar by Union home minister Amit Shah and has been demanding his sacking as well as an apology from him. He said the issue will be strongly taken up at the Belagavi session and ways to take it forward in the future will also be deliberated upon, he said. The Congress general secretary organisation said that the CWC meeting will discuss an action plan and programme for the party for the upcoming year, with two resolutions. Sources said one resolution will be a political one and the second will be on the importance of the session. Mr Venugopal said the meeting will deliberate the critical challenges facing the nation under the BJP rule, including economic "inequality", "erosion" of democracy and "attacks" on constitutional institutions. This will be one of the landmark programs of the Indian National Congress, he added. Mr Ramesh said: "A few years ago, a Chintan Shivir was held in Udaipur, from which the decision of 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' came out. It is hoped that some historic decisions will also come out from Belgaum." The 39th session of the Indian National Congress was held at Belgaum (now called Belagavi, Karnataka) in 1924 and it was the only Congress session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi.
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