Mozambique: Parliament puts district elections, other matters on the agenda

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Mozambique: Parliament puts district elections, other matters on the agenda

4:01 CAT | 06 Feb 2023

FILE - For illustration purposes only [File photo: O País]

The Mozambican parliament has scheduled the debate on the election of district assemblies for the next parliamentary sitting, in a context in which President of the Republic Filipe Nyusi has already cast doubts on the viability of the ballot.

The debate is the 25th item on the agenda of the seventh ordinary session of the Assembly of the Republic, which starts on the 22nd February and runs until the end of May.

The holding of the first district elections in the history of Mozambique is scheduled for 2024, and results from the revision of the Constitution of the Republic in 2019, following an agreement between the government of the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) and the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), the country’s main opposition party.

According to the Mozambican constitution, the vote must take place as part of the 2024 general elections, but this has been placed in doubt by the President of the Republic and Frelimo, soliciting a strong reaction from the opposition.

In December, Filipe Nyusi, during his annual briefing at the Assembly of the Republic, announced the creation of a consultative group to assess the feasibility of district elections.

When debating the bill on the election of members of district assemblies, “parliament plays its role, but this does not necessarily mean that there will be district elections in 2024, because, after the approval of the diploma, other subsequent acts will [still] be lacking,” a parliamentary source told Lusa.

The parliamentary agenda has also slated for the next session debate on the bill regarding the districts’ institutional framework.

The list of parliamentary matters to be dealt with by the end of May includes, for the fourth time, the proposals for new media and broadcasting laws, debate on which had previously been postponed.

The two instruments have been the target of opposition from the media and civil society organisations.

Among their concerns are the fact that the measures establish a media authority which is dependent on the executive, and continue the criminalization of some press activity, at a time when it is recommended that such matters be dealt with under the Civil Code.

Other items on the agenda for the next session also include proposals for a law on the promotion and protection of people with disabilities, the law on non-profit organizations, the law on human health research and the law on the election of members of district assemblies.

The proposed law on legislative authorization for the creation of national data infrastructure specific to Mozambique and the draft law on legislative authorization for the revision of the Notarial Code are also included on the parliamentary agenda.

Deputies will also debate the bill creating the Sovereign Wealth Fund, as advanced on Wednesday by parliamentary spokesman Alberto Matukutuku.

The Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique is controlled by Frelimo, with a qualified majority of 184 out of 250 deputies, followed by Renamo, with 60 seats, and the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), with six seats.

Source: Lusa