Maputo, 11 Aug (AIM) – Four minor political parties have declared their support for the candidates of the second largest opposition party, the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), in the October municipal elections in the central city of Beira.
Beira is the only municipality that is currently run by the MDM. It was in Beira that the MDM emerged as a breakaway from the former rebel movement Renamo, and MDM founder Daviz Simango was mayor of the city from 2003 until his death in February 2021.
The MDM, some months ago, had hoped to form a coalition with Renamo. But these hopes were dashed, and both Renamo and the MDM have promised to field full slates of candidates in all 65 municipalities.
The four parties that have offered to support the MDM have no representation in municipal or provincial assemblies, let alone in the national parliament, the Assembly of the Republic.
They are the Ecologist Party, the Independent Party of Mozambique (PIMO), the Party for Peace, Democracy and Development (PDD) and Democratic Revolution (RD).
PIMO is a disguised Islamic party. When it was set up, it had intended to call itself the Islamic Party of Mozambique. But this fell foul of Mozambican legislation, which prohibits the use by political parties of religious names. Hence the change to “Independent Party”.
The PDD and RD are both breakaways from Renamo. The PDD was set up by Raul Domingos, who led the Renamo delegation that negotiated the 1992 General Peace Agreement, and was generally regarded as the number two in the party before the then Renamo leader, Afonso Dhlakama, had him expelled in 2000,
The RD is a recent creation led by former Renamo members who oppose the leadership of the current Renamo president, Ossufo Momade. Its leader, Vitano Singano, claims that he was once one of Dhlakama’s bodyguards.
The Constitutional Council, Mozambique’s highest body in matters of constitutional and electoral law, has forbidden the RD from using portraits of dead Renamo leaders (Dhlakama and his predecessor, Andre Matsangaissa) in its election propaganda.
The RD has promised to disobey the Constitutional Council – in which case, it will be unable to stand in the October municipal elections.
But the Council ruling does not stop the RD from supporting the MDM. Cited in Friday’s issue of the independent newssheet “Mediafax”, Singano claimed that uniting around a single opposition candidate was the “dream project” of Dhlakama (although, in reality, it was Dhlakama who drove Daviz Simango and his supporters out of Renamo).
Singano added “Our decision to support the MDM unconditionally in this electoral union is limited to Beira”.
He claimed that the RD is building “an information and security system for the MDM”, and will ensure that demoblised Renamo guerrillas will be recruited as MDM election monitors at the polling stations.
MDM spokesperson Ismael Nhacucue told “Mediafax” that the “political pact” with the minor parties is the strategy the MDM has found to set up “a platform of unity and cohesion of the opposition”, so as not to waste opposition votes.
“This is not a coalition”, Nhacucue added, since certain legal requirements must be followed to set up a formal coalition. But it could be a test run for the general elections scheduled for 2024.
(AIM)
Pf/ (545)
