Renamo bars Venâncio Mondlane from using its symbols

Maputo, 25 May (AIM) – Mozambique’s main opposition party Renamo has banned independent presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane and his supporters from using any Renamo symbols in the presidential election scheduled for 9 October.

Mondlane was Renamo candidate for mayor of Maputo in last year’s municipal elections. A parallel count of the votes suggests that only election fraud deprived Mondlane and Renamo of victory.

Mondlane immediately announced his intention to stand for the post of President of Renamo at the party’s next Congress. But when the Congress was held, on 15-16 May, the Renamo leadership denied access to Mondlane. He was thus not on the ballot paper in the leadership election, and the current Renamo leader, Ossufo Momade, had a fairly easy ride to a second five year term as party president. The Renamo National Council than announced that, as expected, Momade will be the Renamo candidate for President of the Republic in the October election.

Far from giving up, Mondlane declared that he is standing for the Mozambican Presidency as an independent, and his supporters are busy collecting the 10,000 supporting signatures from registered voters that any presidential candidate must submit.

Apparently, the Renamo leadership fears that Renamo supporters might believe that Mondlane is the official Renamo candidate. So, although they have so far refrained from expelling Mondlane from Renamo, the leadership declared on Friday that Mondlane cannot use any Renamo building or flags, or items of clothing bearing the Renamo symbols during his campaign. Renamo threatened to haul before the courts any supporter of Mondlane who defies this ban.

The chairperson of the Renamo legal body, the Jurisdictional Council, Arnaldo Chalaua, speaking at a Maputo press conference on Friday said Mondlane “should not use Renamo material, because Renamo material belongs to Renamo”.

“If somebody advances as an independent candidate, obviously no shadow of doubt should be created”, added Chalaua. “He should feed his own initiative in the capacity of an independent candidate”.

It made no sense, he argued, for an independent candidate to use Renamo symbols or names. “The symbols of the Renamo Party are used solely and exclusively for purposes deemed appropriate by the party itself”.

Chalaua said that Renamo has already informed the Ministry of Justice of its intention to protect its symbols. He regarded hijacking the Renamo name or symbols as a criminal offence, and warned that Renamo will take legal measures against anyone who does so.

Renamo is on strong legal ground, because there is a precedent dating from last year’s municipal elections. Then a breakaway from Renamo, calling itself “Democratic Revolution” (RD) designed a symbol which used portraits of the first two Renamo commanders, Andre Matsangaissa and Afonso Dhlakama.

When Renamo protested, the Constitutional Council ruled in favour of Renamo and ordered the RD to change its symbol.

The Constitutional Council warned that the use of Renamo historical figures by the RD “may cause confusion among the electorate at the moment when they are expressing their wishes”. That is, it might easily lead voters “to vote by mistake for the candidates of the RD, when in fact they wanted to vote for Renamo”.

The ruling said that the freedom given to political parties to choose their names, acronyms and symbols cannot be regarded as absolute or unlimited. For it runs up against limits in the electoral legislation under which electoral symbols may not coincide or be confused with those of other parties, coalitions, or independent groups of citizens.

The Renamo ban on anyone else using its symbols followed disturbances in Maputo, Quelimane and Marromeu in which supposed members of Renamo held demonstrations in support of Mondlane, and calling Ossufo Momade “a traitor”. But far from hijacking Renamo propaganda, these demonstrators destroyed it, tearing down Renamo posters and handing back Renamo T-shirts and flags to the local Renamo offices.

Renamo wants to prevent any further pro-Mondlane demonstrations. Chalaua said “we want to inform all the provinces and cities that there is no room for demonstrations intended to repudiate the re-election of Ossufo Momade”.

(AIM)

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