Podemos promises to respect its agreement with Mondlane

Maputo, 9 Jan (AIM) – Albino Forquilha, the leader of PODEMOS (Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique), which is now the country’s largest opposition party, has pledged to uphold the PODEMOS side of its agreement with the former presidential candidate, Venancio Mondlane.

At a Maputo press conference on Wednesday, Forquilha insisted that any disagreement with Mondlane was tactical, rather than a matter of principle.

“In terms of objectives and vision of governance, we are together”, said Forquilha. “But we really diverge on the strategy of struggle”.

Forquilha added that PODEMOS favours dialogue, particularly after the validation of the election results by the Constitutional Council, while Mondlane still believes that street protests are the best way of opposing the results.

“While Venancio still thinks that continuing the protests in the same form as in the past is the best way to achieve electoral truth, we believe that there are other mechanisms”, declared the PODEMOS leader.

As for the criticisms made by Mondlane, who has publicly questioned aspects of the coalition agreement between them, Forquilha reaffirmed the commitment of PODEMOS to comply with all the clauses agreed, including those which grant specific rights to Mondlane. “I don’t know why he questions this”, he said. “We have to comply with what is in the agreement. We cannot be a party which hopes to enter government and then break our agreements”, said Forquilha.

The agreement was initially secret, and contained a confidentiality clause. Podemos says Mondlane was the first to violate this secrecy. The entire agreement has now been published by the anti-corruption NGO, the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP).

The key article in the agreement concerns the appointment of members of state bodies. There are several bodies where political parties appoint members in proportion to the number of seats they hold in the national parliament, the Assembly of the Republic.

The agreement states that, in the event that PODEMOS elects parliamentary deputies, but Mondlane does not win the presidency (the current situation), Mondlane shall choose “the cadres in his confidence to occupy all the public posts where indication depends on parliamentary representation”.

That is, it will be the task of Mondlane to choose, among people whom he trusts, who shall occupy the places reserved for PODEMOS in public offices. One key example is the highly politicised Constitutional Council, the body which validates and declares election results. The agreement establishes that Mondlane will choose, for the next parliamentary term of office, the two Constitutional Council judges who were previously appointed by Renamo.

In the case of the National Elections Commission (CNE), the two sides agreed to divide equally the number of members to be appointed. If, for example, there are four vacancies for PODEMOS, Venancio should appoint two whom he trusts, and PODEMOS the other two.

Mondlane is also entitled to a share of the state subsidy allocated to PODEMOS as a function of its parliamentary representation. PODEMOS must give Mondlane five per cent of the sum it receives from the State Budget for being the runner-up in the parliamentary election.

Forquilha has promised that these clauses remain valid and will be implemented.
(AIM)
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