Maputo, 21 Jan (AIM) – The leadership of Mozambique’s main opposition party, Renamo, has dismissed Venancio Mondlane, the party’s candidate for mayor of Maputo in last October’s municipal elections, from his post as rapporteur of the Renamo parliamentary group.
This follows his dismissal from the post of political advisor to the party’s leader, Ossufo Momade, a few days earlier.
Interviewed by the Portuguese news agency Lusa, Mondlane complained of “retaliation” for his decision to stand for President of Renamo at the forthcoming party congress.
“I think it was legitimate to relieve me of my duties as adviser, because there is a potential conflict of interests in that I am a potential competitor for the Presidency of Renamo”, said Mondlane.”But as for the post of rapporteur of the parliamentary group, that is clearly retaliation, and it is intended to demoralize me and to knock me out psychologically”.
He warned that this tactic would not work. “I am firm, convinced and unshakeable”, he declared. “This will just strengthen me in my belief that my struggle is correct and should continue”.
Momade was elected president of Renamo at a Congress held in January 2019. His term of office expired last Tuesday, but no date has yet been fixed for a congress to elect his successor and the other Renamo leadership bodies.
The President of Renamo is expected to be the Party’s candidate for President of the Republic in the general elections scheduled for 9 October.
Earlier in the month, the Renamo national spokesperson, Jose Manteigas, declared that Momade would be the Renamo candidate. Mondlane and others immediately pointed out that this violated the Renamo statutes which state that the party’s president is elected at a Congress.
During and after the municipal elections, Mondlane became one of the best known public faces of Renamo. According to a parallel vote count, under Mondlane’s leadership Renamo won the election in Maputo – but the National Elections Commission (CNE) and the Constitutional Council awarded the victory to the ruling Frelimo Party.
Mondlane then led almost daily demonstrations through the streets of Maputo protesting against what Renamo regarded as fraudulent results.
In addition to Mondlane, three other people have said they may compete against Momade for the leadership of Renamo. They are the mayor of the central city of Quelimane, Manuel de Araujo, former Renamo parliamentarian Juliano Picardo, and Elias Dhlakama, the younger brother of the late Afonso Dhlakama, who led Renamo from 1979 until his death in 2018.
(AIM)
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