Frelimo repudiates CC member intervention on a possible 3rd term for Nyusi as President of Mozambique

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Frelimo repudiates CC member intervention on a possible 3rd term for Nyusi as President of Mozambique

3:31 CAT | 22 Sep 2022

in file CoM

The Political Commission of Frelimo, the ruling party in Mozambique, has “vehemently” repudiated an intervention by Castigo Langa, a member of the party’s Central Committee, who asked Filipe Nyusi not to stand for a third term as President of the Republic.

“The Political Commission regrets and vehemently repudiates the attitude of comrade Castigo Langa, a member of the Central Committee, in having raised, during the second extraordinary session of the Central Committee, an item outside the approved agenda,” reads a statement issued on Wednesday.

The Political Commission document also criticises party staff who “have circulated a letter on social media, with statements that undermine the party’s image and the integrity of its President”.

The letter in question began to surface on Wednesday in some Mozambican media, after Castigo Langa had read the document at the Central Committee meeting a week ago.

In the text, he asks the Frelimo president and President of Mozambique not to accept a third candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic, warning him of “unpredictable consequences for the country”.

“My conscience is heavy, because I know that unconstitutional changes can encourage similar initiatives on the part of other protagonists, with a high potential to lead to tragedy,” the text attributed to Langa reads.

“If the tragedy results in blood, it will be the comrade President who will soil his hands, while the proponents distance themselves without any shame or hesitation,” Langa’s alleged text continues, in a stronger tone.

Langa advances that a possible proposal to trigger a constitutional review allowing the head of state to run for a third term may come from “opportunists”.

Acceding to remaining in power beyond the limit provided for in the current Constitution of the Republic, “would not be good, neither for comrade President and his family, nor for Frelimo”, he observed.

Castigo Langa served as Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy and is currently a business manager, in addition to being a member of the Frelimo Central Committee, the most important organ of the party between congresses.

Filipe Nyusi won the 2014 elections and was sworn in as President of the Republic in January, 2015. He was re-elected in 2019 and inaugurated in January, 2020, so the second and last term allowed by the current fundamental law of the country ends in January, 2025. General elections are scheduled for 2024.

Castigo Langa’s letter comes at a time when political circles are discussing the possibility that some sections of Frelimo want to push for a constitutional revision which would allow Nyusi to run for a third term.

Frelimo’s parliamentary bench has a qualified majority in the Assembly of the Republic, which would allow them to modify the Constitution.

READ: Frelimo SG confirms that Filipe Nyusi will run for 3rd term as party chief – A Verdade

XII Frelimo Congress: Nyusi only candidate for party president – AIM

Source: Lusa