Maputo — People claiming to be supporters of Mozambique's fugitive presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane early on Wednesday morning attacked and burnt down the office of the ruling Frelimo Party in Errego, capital of Ile district, in the central province of Zambezia, according to a report in the electronic paper "Txopela', published in the provincial capital, Quelimane.

Various public buildings were then attacked, including the Ile district administrative offices.

"The flames have completely devoured the district offices of the ruling party', said one eye-witness.

In addition to setting buildings on fire, the main access roads to Errego were blocked, preventing the circulation of vehicles. The excuse for this destruction was anger at the preliminary results of the 9 October general elections, announced by the National Elections Commission (CNE) on 24 October.

Those results claimed that Frelimo and its presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo, had won over 70 per cent of the vote. Mondlane and his supporters dismiss these results as massively fraudulent.

Also in Zambezia, the Quelimane municipal assembly approved the city's budget and plan of activities for 2025, in the absence of all the Frelimo members of the Assembly.

The main opposition party in Quelimane, Renamo, has a majority in the Assembly and so did not need any Frelimo votes to pass the municipal plan and budget.

The Assembly majority issued a statement regretting the boycott by the Frelimo group, warning that this compromised "the political dialogue necessary for meeting the aspirations of the public'.

It regarded the boycott as "a sign of lack of interest in the challenges facing the city'.

The Frelimo group has not yet explained its absence.