Maputo, 14 Sep (AIM) – The presidential candidate of Mozambique’s ruling Frelimo Party, Daniel Chapo, on Thursday visited the birthplace of the country’s first President, Samora Machel, at Chilembene, in the southern province of Gaza, where he received assurances of the full support of the Machel family.
The former first lady, Graca Machel, in a video she has circulated, declared “Comrade Chapo, you are my candidate, you are the candidate of the entire Machel family, not only because you are the candidate of the Frelimo Party, but above all because we identify with the way you are renewing the contract with the people”.
Interviewed by the independent television station STV, Graca Machel said she believes that Chapo “will rescue the values of Frelimo”. That was what was stated in Chapo’s manifesto, she declared.
“He wants to restore the political and ancestral values of Frelimo”, she insisted, noting Chapo’s repeated calls for hard work, not as anything individual, but as a call on all Mozambicans to work wherever they are, “to rescue the country”.
The same feelings were echoed by Samora Machel’s son, Samora Machel Junior (better known as “Samito”), who called for a “purification of ranks” within Frelimo.
Success, he stressed, “does not depend only on Chapo, but on all of us, particularly within Frelimo. We must begin the clean-up inside Frelimo. We must do away with promoting people because they are friends, we must do away with nepotism, and we must do away with corruption. We must do away with any authorization to trample upon the rules within the party. And that will then allow good governance”.
“The forces of good are here to defend Daniel Chapo”, declared Machel Junior. “He has shown that he is a person of good. We cannot allow the forces of evil to take over this country. They have already done a great deal of damage. We’ve had enough! It’s over”.
“Only with seriousness and responsibility can we build the country”, he warned. “If we don’t do this, we are lost”.
The Chapo campaign has also used the experience of the country’s two former heads of state, Joaquim Chissano and Armando Guebuza, who are both honorary presidents of Frelimo
Chapo on Friday visited Chissano’s home village of Malehice, where he spoke at length with the former President. Chissano accompanied Chapo to an election rally in Muzingane locality, in Limpopo district.
Speaking in the local language, Shangaan, Chissano presented Chapo as “the ideal choice” to lead the country for the next five years.
“We worked hard to find the right candidate, and fortunately we have found him”, said Chissano. “His main characteristic is that he likes to work for the people, and not for his own benefit”.
“Let’s all vote for him”, Chissano urged. “He needs our support. Please do not abandon him”.
“Being President is no easy task”, he added. “It’s a burden”. He promised that he will always be ready “to help you carry the burden”.
(AIM)
Pf/ (501)
