- Analysts say the opposition emerges weakened and risks disappearing
By Aurélio Muianga and Noémia Mendes
Maputo (MOZTIMES) – 17 days after they boycotted the official investiture ceremony, MPs from Mozambique’s two traditional opposition parties, Renamo and the MDM, took their seats in the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic (AR) on Wednesday.
The initial ceremony, held on 13 January, had only been attended by MPs from the ruling Frelimo Party, and from PODEMOS, a party initially formed by Frelimo dissidents, and which is now the largest opposition party in the Assembly.
Renamo spokesperson Arnaldo Chalaua justified the initial absence of his party’s MPs as a protest against election fraud and violent repression of demonstrators. “There were neither moral nor ethical conditions to take our seats amidst a bloodbath,” the MP said. “We would have betrayed the people’s trust.
“The 9 October elections were a mirage,” Chalaua added, reiterating that Renamo intends to fight for change and greater transparency in overseeing government actions.
MDM spokesperson Fernando Bismarque explained that their initial refusal to take office aimed to express dissatisfaction with the election results and the ensuing violence. “However, the law allows absent MPs to be sworn in within 30 days. Listening to the people also means taking up our role in the Assembly of the Republic,” he said.
With the opposition parties’ MPs now sworn in, former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane finds himself isolated in contesting the election results, and analysts believe the opposition as a whole emerges weakened.
“The MDM and Renamo were trying to make a political statement, but they knew they couldn’t remain outside Parliament,” said political analyst Gabriel Ngomane in an interview. “The reality is that, over the past ten years, the opposition parties have been largely inactive. If they don’t become more active in the next five years, they risk disappearing,” he added.
Sociologist João Feijó agreed that the opposition is weakened and said its role in Parliament is merely symbolic. “The ruling party doesn’t need the opposition for anything. It will maintain its arrogant stance, approve whatever legislation it wants, and continue without accountability. There’s nothing Renamo or MDM can do to stop it,” he stated in an interview.
Frelimo holds 171 of the 250 seats in Mozambique’s unicameral Parliament. This gives the ruling party, in power for 50 years, a two-thirds majority, allowing it to pass any laws and government programmes regardless of the opposition’s stance. (AM/NM)
