SANF 24 no 46 by Clarkson Mambo
SADC is ready to use its conflict resolution structures to help Mozambique return to peace and political stability after the unrest that followed general elections held on 9 October.
This was one of the key decisions of the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government held on 20 November in Harare, Zimbabwe to discuss the peace and security situation in the 16-member Southern African Development Community (SADC).
“Summit received an update from His Excellency Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, President of the Republic of Mozambique on the post-election political and security situation in the country and reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to work with the Republic of Mozambique in ensuring peace, security and stability through the relevant structures of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation,” read a communique released at the end of the summit.
Senior officials said a regional intervention would come only after the country has exhausted its internal mechanisms to address the unrest, triggered by opposition claims that the outcome of the election did not reflect the will of the people.
The country’s electoral body, the National Elections Commission (CNE), said in its final results that the governing Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) won both the presidential and parliamentary elections.
Four presidential candidates contested in the polls – Daniel Chapo of Frelimo; Venancio Mondlane, an independent candidate backed by Podemos, a smaller opposition party; Ossufo Momade of the main opposition Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo); and Lutero Simango, representing the second biggest opposition party, the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM).
According to the CNE, Chapo got 70 percent of the votes, followed by Mondlane with 20 percent, while Momade had 5.81 percent and Simango 3.21 percent.
In the parliamentary elections, Frelimo increased its seats to 195 out of 250, more than the 184 it had in 2019. Podemos, which previously had no representation secured 31 seats, ahead of Renamo which was down to 20 from 60, and MDM with four.
In a ballot described by regional observers as “competitive, orderly and peaceful”, less than 45 percent of the 17.2 million voters cast their votes on election day.
The results as announced by CNE are yet to be certified by the Constitutional Council of Mozambique, the highest decision-making body on matters of constitutional and electoral law, as it is still addressing electoral challenges submitted by opposition parties.
The electoral law does not set any deadline for the Council to take its decision.
Mondlane’s insistence that he won the elections, just two days after the polls, even before the CNE announced the official results and his calls for demonstrations, triggered the unrest.
The murder of prominent opposition lawyer, Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe, a Podemos election agent, by unidentified assailants, days after the election, worsened the situation. Dias was the lawyer for both Mondlane and Podemos.
Following these events, Mondlane, who has since gone into self-imposed exile, intensified calls for protests against what he claimed were attempts to subvert the will of the people.
The demonstrations have affected business especially in the capital Maputo and spread to other cities and towns. They also led to clashes with the police amid claims by civil society groups that between 30 and 50 people have been killed, while more have been injured.
“Summit extended condolences to the Government and people of the Republic of Mozambique for the lives lost during the post-election violence,” read the SADC summit communiqué.
Nyusi, who did not contest in the elections as he has served the constitutional two-term limit, has called for unity and dialogue involving the four presidential candidates.
“We have to be together to solve our problems. Let us also free ourselves of egoism, because it is not through egoism that we can solve this problem,” he said.
As a way forward to address the impasse, both Chapo and Mondlane have expressed openness to dialogue. Momade had called for the elections to be annulled, while Mondlane disagreed, instead calling for a recount. However, only the Constitutional Council can order a recount.
At the extraordinary summit, the SADC Executive Secretary, Elias Magosi said, “We do not expect that elections processes could deteriorate to the extent of serious conflict, disruption of economic activity, threat to human lives, and even loss of lives, as well as damage to property and infrastructure.”
He called on aggrieved parties to follow and exhaust legal remedies that were put in place to address their misgivings.
One of the initiatives SADC has put in place to address potential conflict in the region that will likely be deployed to Mozambique is the SADC Panel of Elders (POE) and Mediation Reference Group (MRG).
The SADC PoE and MRG are part of the SADC Mediation and Conflict Prevention and Preventative Diplomacy structure that was established by the SADC Heads of State and Government in August 2004 to foster political and security stability in the region through the prevention and resolution of significant inter-state and intra-state conflicts.
Dr Jakaya Kikwete, the former President of the United Republic of Tanzania, chairs the PoE, while Ambassador Lucy Mungoma from Zambia chairs the MRG.
Both the PoE and MRG fall under the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, which is responsible for ensuring regional peace and security. sardc.net
