- “We have to find a solution for this crisis which is constitutionally acceptable. The election observation commissions in the country, are in the service of a political party which should not happen if we really want to surpass this situation”, they declared.
By Noémia Mendes
Maputo (MOZTIMES)- Political analysts argue that the political debate, set for last Tuesday, 26 November, was no more than a piece of political theatre staged by President Filipe Nyusi to show internationally that he wants to solve the post-election crisis in a democratic way.
Speaking in the MOZTIMES Podcast debate this Thursday, Prof Domingos do Rosário, said that, with a post-election crisis sweeping through the country, there is no justification for President Nyusi’s lack of concern about creating an agenda to solve this problem.
On Tuesday, the political dialogue between the candidates in the presidential elections was cancelled due to the absence of Venâncio Mondlane, whose whereabouts are unknown.
Mondlane justified his absence because Nyusi had not replied to the 20 points he had raised as proposals for debate.
For his part, Prof João Feijó said that the current presidency is not open to dialogue, “and this problem is structural in Mozambican society, including within the Frelimo Party itself”.
“The current presidency is not open to dialogue, just as the way in which the Frelimo candidate, Daniel Chapo, was chosen did not result from a dialogue”, said Feijó. But he recognised that the current generation is different from the previous generation, in that it is more daring and courageous.
“So we have to find a solution to this crisis, which is constitutionally acceptable and which stabilises the country politically. The most correct path, I believe, is to annul the elections”, added Feijo. This solution might probably prolong the current governance, “but people need a solution to this problem and that implies the ruling party handing over rapidly”.
Domingos do Rosário declared that not much can be expected from the Constitutional Council (CC). It was unlikely to solve this electoral crisis, “because they failed in past elections”.
“I don’t believe in the Constitutional Council, because last year we were in a similar situation, but this body undertook lots of manoeuvres and finally gave results very different from those that were announced by the National Elections Commission”, said do Rosário, asking why the Constitutional Council was so small when it had to verify the minutes from more than 26,000 polling stations. “What legitimacy can be expected from this?”, he asked.
For do Rosário, “the least the CC should have done, in this period, was to seek to provide information transparently, and not appear as a victim, denouncing threats. Why didn’t they say who is threatening them?”, he asked.
He claimed that the election observation commissions in the country are at the service of a political party “which should not happen, if we really want to overcome this situation”. (NM)
