DEFEAT OF CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT IN MOZAMBICAN PARLIAMENT "PART OF STRATEGY TO PUSH RENAMOINTO WAR" - IVONE SOARES /RENAMO PARTY MP
The Mozambican parliament,the Assembly of the Republic,on Monday rejected a constitutional amendment,proposed by the largest opposition party Renamo,which would have allowed its leader Afonso Dhlakama to appoint governors in those provinces where he won the most votes in the October 2014 presidential election.
Last year,after it won most votes in the central and northern provinces of Sofala,Manica'Tete,
Zambezia,Nampula and Niassa,Renamo proposed revision of the constitution which would have allowed Afonso Dhlakama's party take control of those provinces.
In fact,Afonso Dhlakama,by proposing these so called''provincial municipalities''was intending to make himself ''presdent'' of the other parts of Mozambique where Frelimo lost the vote.
The Renamo amendment sought to add provincial municipa to the existing towns and city municipalities.
More importantly,it gave the elected provincial
assemblies power to nominate the provincial governor,who would then be sworn into office by the head of state.But that would only take effectafter the 2019 general elections.
In the interim,the governors would be appointed by whichever presidential candidate won most votes in the province in October 2014.
Last year,after it won most votes in the central and northern provinces of Sofala,Manica'Tete,
Zambezia,Nampula and Niassa,Renamo proposed revision of the constitution which would have allowed Afonso Dhlakama's party take control of those provinces.
In fact,Afonso Dhlakama,by proposing these so called''provincial municipalities''was intending to make himself ''presdent'' of the other parts of Mozambique where Frelimo lost the vote.
The Renamo amendment sought to add provincial municipa to the existing towns and city municipalities.
More importantly,it gave the elected provincial
assemblies power to nominate the provincial governor,who would then be sworn into office by the head of state.But that would only take effectafter the 2019 general elections.
In the interim,the governors would be appointed by whichever presidential candidate won most votes in the province in October 2014.
This would allow Dhlakama to appoint five governors in Sofala,Manica,Tete,Zambezia
Contrary to Renamo’s apparent belief,Dhlakama did not win in Niassa there the Frelimo candidate,and now President of the Republic,Filipe Nyusi,won with 48.5 per cent of the vote to 44.4 per cent for Dhlakama.
Renamo has always mantained that Dhlakama won the presdential elections of 2014 and that Frelimo hijacked its victory.
Frelimo mantains that the elections were free and fair and even quotes Dhlakama's words when he said that the elections were fraud free.Frelimo defeated the Renamo proposal in parliament,of which Renamo said was a strategy to bring it into war.
For Renamo,Eduardo Namburete claimed that amending the Constitution“is a peaceful alternative for solving the crisis.We believe in a peaceful,negotiated solution.If the Assembly did not pass the Renamo amendment “it will be proving its incompetence before the people,and showing that the deputies are irrelevant”.
“The alternative to peace is conflict'' ”,he threatened “If we fail to reach consensus,then the judgement of future generations will be harsh”.Frelimo said at that time that the constitution must not be changed to suit Renamos's war ''mongering whims''.
A lengthy written opinion from the Assembly’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Commission
argued that,although Renamo only proposed changing a couple of articles,its amendment would radically alter the whole structure of political power as envisaged in the Constitution.
"The magnitude of the alterations proposed imply deep modifications in the organization and exercise of political power in the Mozambican state",the ccommission said.
Neither the Commission nor the Frelimo group were opposed to changing the Constitution but they believed that it was only through a general revision of the entire Constitution,involving a nationwide debate“that we can alter the political system,deepen decentralization,and undertake constitutional reforms that reflect the collective will,in a participatory, structured,coherent and harmonious manner”.
The head of the Frelimo group, Margarida Talapa,announced that her party will bring a
proposal to the first sitting of the Assembly in 2016 to set up yet another ad-hoc commission to rewrite the Constitution.
The third parliamentary party,the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM),suggested a
compromise.Pending eventual direct election of the provincial governors,each provincial
assembly,or each party with a majority of votes in the province,should submit three
names to Nyusi, who would make the final decision.Neither Frelimo nor Renamo took the MDM proposa seriously,and when the
Renamo amendment was put to the vote the MDM voted in favour of it.But Frelimo enjoys an absolute majority in the Assembly, and so the combined opposition forces went down to defeat by 135 votes to 86.Giving the Renamo “declaration of vote”,the heado of the Renamo parliamentary Group,Ivone Soares,claimed
that voting down the amendment “is part of a strategy to push Renamo into war”.
Frelimo mantains that the elections were free and fair and even quotes Dhlakama's words when he said that the elections were fraud free.Frelimo defeated the Renamo proposal in parliament,of which Renamo said was a strategy to bring it into war.
For Renamo,Eduardo Namburete claimed that amending the Constitution“is a peaceful alternative for solving the crisis.We believe in a peaceful,negotiated solution.If the Assembly did not pass the Renamo amendment “it will be proving its incompetence before the people,and showing that the deputies are irrelevant”.
“The alternative to peace is conflict'' ”,he threatened “If we fail to reach consensus,then the judgement of future generations will be harsh”.Frelimo said at that time that the constitution must not be changed to suit Renamos's war ''mongering whims''.
A lengthy written opinion from the Assembly’s Constitutional and Legal Affairs Commission
argued that,although Renamo only proposed changing a couple of articles,its amendment would radically alter the whole structure of political power as envisaged in the Constitution.
"The magnitude of the alterations proposed imply deep modifications in the organization and exercise of political power in the Mozambican state",the ccommission said.
Neither the Commission nor the Frelimo group were opposed to changing the Constitution but they believed that it was only through a general revision of the entire Constitution,involving a nationwide debate“that we can alter the political system,deepen decentralization,and undertake constitutional reforms that reflect the collective will,in a participatory, structured,coherent and harmonious manner”.
The head of the Frelimo group, Margarida Talapa,announced that her party will bring a
proposal to the first sitting of the Assembly in 2016 to set up yet another ad-hoc commission to rewrite the Constitution.
The third parliamentary party,the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM),suggested a
compromise.Pending eventual direct election of the provincial governors,each provincial
assembly,or each party with a majority of votes in the province,should submit three
names to Nyusi, who would make the final decision.Neither Frelimo nor Renamo took the MDM proposa seriously,and when the
Renamo amendment was put to the vote the MDM voted in favour of it.But Frelimo enjoys an absolute majority in the Assembly, and so the combined opposition forces went down to defeat by 135 votes to 86.Giving the Renamo “declaration of vote”,the heado of the Renamo parliamentary Group,Ivone Soares,claimed
that voting down the amendment “is part of a strategy to push Renamo into war”.
She accused Frelimo “of continuing to rule without legitimacy,because they think they own Mozambique”.
Source: AIM
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