Maputo, 16 Oct (AIM) – Renamo, the largest opposition party in Mozambique, has called on its provincial delegates to avoid “acts of anarchy” in the light of last Wednesday’s presidential, parliamentary and provincial elections.
According to a note signed by the party secretary-general Clementina Bomba, “there is no need to promote acts of anarchy that jeopardize the image and good name of Renamo president, Ossufo Momade.”
The brief note, which was distributed to the party’s provincial directorates, calls for “calm” to be maintained and for the “guidelines of the leadership” to be followed.
On Monday, the provincial committee of the party in Sofala called a press conference to announce the dismissal of Horácio Calavete from the post of provincial political delegate, alleging mismanagement and abuse of power.
But, in reaction to the dismissal, Bomba said “it is exclusively up to the party president to ‘appoint, dismiss or organize the election of the political delegate.”
As for reactions to the collapse in the Renamo vote, Bomba said “The party bodies will comment on the current election scenario in due course”, she added.
Since Mozambique introduced multi-party elections in 1994, Renamo has always been the runner-up in presidential and parliamentary elections, losing only to the ruling Frelimo Party.
However, the results so far announced from Wednesday’s elections suggest that, for the first time, Renamo will lose its status as the country’s largest opposition party to Podemos (Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique), which backed the independent presidential candidate, Venancio Mondlane.
A very different reaction came from one of Bomba’s predecessors as General Secretary, Manuel Bissopo. In an interview with the German agency DW Africa, Bissopo said there is no way to minimize the disastrous results that Renamo recorded in last Wednesday’s elections.
He argued that the results show that Renamo members and the public in general are dissatisfied with the party’s performance.
“Renamo’s situation is terrible”, said Bissopo. “There has been no shortage of warnings over these past five years, but unfortunately Renamo’s management has not lived up to the expectations of the majority of its supporters”.
“Throughout this period, we have heard constant criticism”, he added, “and the party has been unable to react. The result is what we see now: a painful and disappointing situation. Renamo no longer has the confidence of the majority. This is something I deeply regret”.
Bissopo said that the party will face enormous difficulties in overcoming this crisis, “and if the party doesn’t offer an adequate response, it will be even more difficult.”
In order to reverse the scenario, Bissopo said, Renamo must present itself with a new look, in order to win the confidence of millions of Mozambicans once again.
“The party has a big task in the coming months. There is an urgent need for a positive response, demonstrating that Renamo can still earn the trust of the people, but this will require profound changes. Just like a football team that needs to reform, Renamo must make substantial changes to meet the expectations of its supporters”, he said.
According to Bissopo, at the last party congress to elect a new leadership, held in May in the central municipality of Alto Molocue, the members did not know how to make changes even though many people were already questioning the leadership of Ossufo Momade.
“People are tired. They expected the last Congress to bring change, but instead we saw the legitimization of President Ossufo Momade, even after so many challenges. This has generated a great deal of anger. Now it’s up to Renamo to reflect on its current situation. The party’s leadership does not fulfill the wishes of the majority”, he declared.
(AIM)
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