The National Electoral Commission (CNE) of Mozambique has scheduled the inauguration of the members of the Assembly of the Republic elected in the general elections of October 9 for January 13.
The Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) won the elections for the Mozambican parliament with an absolute majority, securing 171 seats, with the newcomer Podemos electing 43, dethroning Renamo as the opposition leader, according to the announcement of the results on December 23 by the president of the Constitutional Council (CC), Lúcia Ribeiro.
Frelimo maintains a parliamentary majority in the tenth legislature, with 171 seats (currently 184), which now has four parties represented, compared to the current three.
The Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos), which until now was an extra-parliamentary party and supported Venâncio Mondlane’s presidential candidacy, came in second place, gaining the status of the main opposition party, with 43 deputies.
According to the results announced by the CC, the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) lost its status as the largest opposition party, with 28 elected deputies, compared to the current 60.
In turn, the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM) maintained its parliamentary representation, with eight deputies, two more than currently.
The investiture of the 250 deputies to the Assembly of the Republic precedes the inauguration of the new President of the Republic, Daniel Chapo — supported by Frelimo -, set for January 15, elected with 65.17% of the votes, succeeding Filipe Nyusi in office, according to the results announced by the CC.
Presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who does not recognize the election results, considered on Tuesday that the “early” inauguration of the Podemos party’s deputies would be disrespectful to the memory of those who died in the protests contesting the election results.
“It is about the memory and respect of those who fell for the cause, of those who fight day and night since the election campaign until today in the streets and much more, that I recommended that Podemos not hold an early inauguration in the Assembly of the Republic. It is a question of respect, above all”, declared Venâncio Mondlane, in an open letter addressed to the president of Podemos, the party that supported his candidacy.
Podemos, registered in May 2019 and made up of dissidents from the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), has seen its popularity increase since the announcement, on August 21, of its support for Mondlane’s candidacy in the presidential elections, as a result of a “political agreement”, shortly after Mondlane had his coalition, called CAD, rejected by the Constitutional Council for “irregularities”.
According to Mondlane, the inauguration of Podemos deputies, already confirmed by different party bodies, violates the political agreement between the two parties.
“I have never opposed the inauguration and the taking of seats in the Assembly of the Republic, I am only opposed to this act taking place in a more decisive manner, in which not even the principles of the demands presented to the regime have been taken into account or found”, Mondlane stresses in the letter, for whom, in light of the law, the failure to take office does not imply the loss of the mandate.
For Venâncio Mondlane, the inauguration of Podemos MPs will “weaken the struggle”.
“The electoral process was fraudulent, and Podemos was even harmed by around 90 parliamentary seats”, reads Mondlane’s letter, which gives the party president a three-day deadline to respond whether or not he will comply with some of the main clauses of the agreement.
Podemos is the result of a split by former members of Frelimo, who called for more “economic inclusion” and left the party in power at the time, claiming “disenchantment” and different ambitions.
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