Renamo threatens secession of Matola

Maputo, 11 Nov (AIM) – The candidate for mayor of the southern Mozambican city of Matola for the country’s main opposition party, Renamo, Antonio Muchanga, has threatened that he will declare “an autonomous state” in Matola, if the Constitutional Council, the country’s highest body in matters of constitutional and electoral law does not confirm that Renamo won the 11 October municipal election in Matola.

Muchanga headed a march of Renamo supporters through the streets of Matola on Friday. According to Saturday’s issue of the independent daily “O Pais”, the high point of the Renamo protest was a parade past the offices of the Matola Municipal Council.

Police armoured vehicles were defending the Council building, but the marchers made no attempt to attack it, and the demonstration passed off without incident.

Speaking to “O Pais”, Muchanga warned that, if the Constitutional Council does not proclaim his victory, then Renamo will make it impossible for the ruling Frelimo Party to govern Matola. “There is no mechanism which can deny that Renamo won the election”, he declared.

He hoped that the Constitutional Council will not follow in the footsteps of the National Elections Commission (CNE) and proclaim results which Renamo regards as fraudulent.

On 26 October, the CNE announced that Frelimo had won in 64 of the 65 municipalities: but parallel vote counts by reputable observer bodies suggested that, in reality, Renamo had won in several major cities, including Maputo, Matola, Quelimane and Nampula.

“The Constitutional Council said it will assess my protest, when it comes to validate all the election results, and this validation has not yet happened”, said Muchanga.

“I sincerely hope that the Constitutional Council does not do what the CNE did, because, if it does, Mozambique is finished”, he added. “We cannot be forbidden from governing”.

Any attempt to stop Renamo from running Matola would mean that “Frelimo too will not govern here”.

He threatened to go further and declare the independence of Matola. “I shall take Matola, and not just as a municipality. I shall transform my Assembly into the Republican Assembly of Matola. I shall create what I want. What is happening in Somalia, I shall do here”.

Protest marches will continue in Matola, Muchanga added, suggesting that Renamo would declare independent states in the other municipalities where it has claimed victory in the 11 October elections. “until we are governing in all the municipalities where we won”.

He said Renamo has all the polling station minutes and results sheets (“editais”) which show that Renamo won in Matola. The parallel count by the observers give the same result.

All three parties represented in parliament (Frelimo, Renamo and the Mozambique Democratic Movement, MDM) have the right to appoint a member of staff in each polling station, and to receive a copy of the results sheet.

“Renamo and the MDM have handed over their results sheets”, said Muchanga, “and I ask why Frelimo is not handing over its copies of the editais”.

“The Frelimo delegates are afraid of surrendering the editais”, he accused.

(AIM)

Pf/ (509)