Mozambique Elections: Bar Association calls for dialogue between presidential candidates to stop protests

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Mozambique Elections: Bar Association calls for dialogue between presidential candidates to stop protests

1:27 CAT | 10 Dec 2024

File photo: OAM

The chairman of the Mozambican Bar Association (OAM) today advocated dialogue between presidential candidates as a way to put an end to the post-election tension in the country, warning that the situation is evolving into a “social uprising”.

“We often say, where is the President of the Republic? He is less than 35 days away from leaving office and he is often not the unifying element of Mozambicans with 35 days to go. The candidates are the aggregating element and they must sit down and indicate a path,” OAM president Carlos Martins declared during a debate on human rights in the post-election crisis in Maputo.

Citing out the need for dialogue in the “national interest”, Martins defended the role of the Bar Association in the legal harmonization of the probable political agreements that may arise in the face of meetings between the presidential candidates.

“The actors need to sit down, talk and reach an understanding, and then the Bar Association has a role to try to ensure that these understandings are in line with the law or if it is necessary to modify some law to adjust to these consensuses for the good of all, in the national interest,” he indicated.

Mozambique, especially Maputo, has been the scene of protests contesting the election results, with presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane calling for strikes and marches that quickly led to clashes between protesters and the police.

The chairman of the Mozambican Bar Association indicated that the ongoing demonstrations have evolved into what he considers a “social revolt”.

“A demonstration is normally ideological, but social revolt is not, which is why it does not comply with legal standards and that is what is happening. It is indeed a social revolt and there are several reasons for it,” Martins said, citing among the causes, flaws in the distribution of wealth, the lack of criteria for financial, economic and social inclusion and clear policies for the most disadvantaged.

“We know the problems we have towards a clear policy on the expectations of our natural resources, the people are not informed, the concession contracts are often not known to the people, they are kept secret and the conviction is created that there is a fringe that is taking advantage of these concessions,” Martins added.

The president of the Mozambican Bar Association also warned about the police’s lack of preparation to deal with the social revolt without resorting to violence.

“We have an unprepared police force, which does not have guidelines on how to deal with the demonstrations. It does not have the means to deal with this,” he stated, pointing out as an example the running over of a young woman by a military vehicle in the centre of Maputo during the protests.

Presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane called for a new phase of electoral protests lasting from 4 to 11 December in “all neighbourhoods” of Mozambique, with a stoppage of traffic from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

The announcement by the CNE on October 24, of the results of the October 9 elections, in which it attributed victory to Frelimo candidate Daniel Chapo with 70.67% of the votes, sparked popular protests, called by the also presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, which have degenerated into violent clashes with the police.

According to the CNE, Mondlane came in second place, with 20.32%, but he does not recognize the results, which still have to be validated and proclaimed by the Constitutional Council.

At least 103 people have died in the demonstrations since October 21, according to an update issued on Sunday (08-12) by the electoral platform Decide.

Source: Lusa