The South African Minister for International Relations, Ronald Lamola, said this week that South Africa's congratulations to the Frelimo party on the election of its candidate Daniel Chapo as President of the Republic was a customary act.

At a press conference, he explained that this was not a marginal attitude to the rule, even though the Constitutional Council had not validated the preliminary results announced by the National Electoral Commission.

"We know when congratulations are issued. It's nothing unique or unusual that South Africa did with the results of the Mozambican elections. Immediately after the preliminary results... that's the norm," he said.

According to Lamola, South Africa could not do otherwise, fearing speculation that it was covering up for the Frelimo party.

"So we didn't go out of our way to protect our Frelimo friends, as is being insinuated. We just followed the process. We can't stop doing what is the norm because we'll be seen to be protecting our friends," he said.

The results of the general elections held on October 9 show the Frelimo candidate with 70% of the votes. The second most voted candidate was Venâncio Mondlane, with 20.3% of the votes. Mondlane claims victory and says that the results announced are fraudulent. Because of the results, since October 21 the country has been living under protests that have killed dozens of people.

Last week, the Border Management Authority of South Africa intermittently closed the Lembobo border post after the infrastructure was destroyed on the Mozambican side and the authorities tried to seek refuge in South Africa.