ACLLN defends postponement of 2024 district elections

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ACLLN defends postponement of 2024 district elections

9:55 CAT | 28 Mar 2023

(FILE PHOTO: for illustration purposes only)

The Association of Combatants of the National Liberation Struggle (ACLLN) has backed the postponement of the district elections scheduled for 2024, explaining that the current process of decentralization in Mozambique still needs further consolidation.

This is the position taken by ACLLN general secretary Fernando Faustino at the opening ceremony of the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Frelimo Central Committee (CC) in Matola, Maputo province.

“The ACLLN calls for the 2024 district elections to be postponed, as we understand that this process must be consolidated at all levels,” Faustino said.

Regarding the second ordinary session of the CC, Faustino said that the party’s priority must be to guarantee victory in the next municipal elections, scheduled for 11 October.

For this reason, he added, “our expectation is that the second Ordinary Session of the Central Committee will be a unique opportunity for in-depth discussion of the internal life of the party and the country, with a view to strengthening the action of the party in Mozambican society and in the diaspora, respecting the traditional principle of party unity”.

As for the next elections, the ACLLN secretary says the party must prepare for victory in advance, as has been its tradition and, to this end, must select a winning candidate who is up to the challenges of the country and who conducts himself in a way that does not violate Frelimo’s principles.

“It has to be a candidate who inspires confidence in the Mozambican people,” he said, adding that: “In Frelimo there is what we calls ‘party discipline’, to which we owe absolute obedience, since no-one is above the statutory norms of our party.”

The ACLLN also backed the thesis that the demonstrations that took place last Saturday (18-03) in honor of deceased musician Azagaia, were the outcome of the manipulation of young people by political actors whose objective was to take advantage of the occasion to propagate certain political messages, destabilize the country and give an impression of ungovernability.

“We therefore want to send vigorous appreciation for the prompt action of our Defense and Security Forces (FDS) who, having realized that manipulation was taking place, avoided the risks of vandalism,” Faustino said.

The Mozambican Youth Organization (OJM) shared his same position.

“We exhort the young people of our country not to join movements that could lead us to situations of disobedience and vandalism,” Secretary-General Silva Livone said. “Demonstrations and agitations in social networks do not build a prosperous nation,” he added, appealing to young people to distance themselves from movements that could incite vandalism.

He also urged young people to prioritize dialogue by way of the Secretariat for Youth and Employment, which is the main element of the government concerned with the interests of young people, and which continues to place young people at the center of the agenda, through the multiplication of opportunities to ensure that the interests of young Mozambicans are satisfied.

Source: AIM