Situation in country “stable” says MP, while opposition boycotts parliament
The political situation in Mozambique “is stable”, declared Prime Minister Adriano Maleiane on Wednesday, at the opening of a session of the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic.
But he was only speaking to deputies from the ruling Frelimo Party. The parliamentary groups of both opposition parties, Renamo and the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) boycotted the session, just as they had boycotted the opening of this parliamentary sitting in mid-October.
The boycott is in protest against the preliminary results of the 11 October municipal elections, which the opposition parties regard as fraudulent.
On 25 October, Renamo leader Ossufo Momade had promised that Renamo would end its boycott. But on Wednesday morning not a single Renamo or MDM deputy was present in the Assembly.
The session was dedicated to the government providing information requested by the deputies. Both opposition parties had submitted questions: Renamo wanted information about the government’s flagship agricultural programme, Sustenta, which it regards as a scam, while the MDM asked about the excessive use of force by the police against demonstrations.
Despite the absence of the people who asked those questions, Government ministers replied. Thus Agriculture Minister Celso Correia said that, under the Sustenta programme, 316,000 households had received kits of agricultural inputs, and 271,000 new extensionists were hired.
Maleiane claimed that state institutions are functioning “normally”, as shown by the smooth holding of the municipal elections. This is true, in that polling day itself was by and large peaceful – but subsequently there have been major demonstrations against the allegedly fraudulent results, which degenerated into rioting last Friday, in Maputo, Nampula and Nacala.
Mozambicans, said Maleiane, had shown that they are “interested in deepening and consolidating the democratic process and decentralization”.
With the opposition absent, the parliamentary debate was monotonous, consisting of one Frelimo deputy after another singing the praises of President Filipe Nyusi and the government, and boasting of the party’s supposedly enormous election victory.
This “debate” is scheduled to continue on Thursday, and it is not yet clear whether any opposition deputies will attend.
