HARARE, December 25. /TASS/. At least 21 people were killed in Mozambique after the country’s Constitutional Council announced the final results of the October 9 general election in the country, Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda said.

"After the Constitutional Council announced final results of the election, opposition forces led by presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane staged mass protests that led to at least 21 deaths," the Verdade news portal quoted the minister as saying.

The minister suggested that the opposition probably joined forces with Islamic terrorists, who are active in the country’s northern province of Cabo Delgado.

Participants of anti-government rallies in the capital built barricades and set car tyres on fire and knocked down electricity poles. They also ransacked shops, offices, police stations, banks and filling stations.

Earlier this week, Mozambique’s Constitutional Council re-affirmed the governing Frelimo party’s decades-long hold on power, declaring its candidates winners in the parliamentary and presidential elections that were held on October 9.

Mondlane refused to recognize the official results, threatening the authorities with mass protests. He pledged to declare himself president on January 15 if the Constitutional Council fails to do so.

News has been changed (1:59 Moscow time) - Fixes date in lead