Frelimo secretary general denies Mulémbwè – AIM report

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Frelimo secretary general denies Mulémbwè – AIM report

8:50 CAT | 03 Mar 2017

File photo / Eliseu Machava

The declaration on Monday night by Eduardo Mulémbwè, the former chairperson of the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, that President Filipe Nyusi will run for a second term of office in 2019, is just his own view, and is not the official position of Frelimo, the party’s general secretary, Eliseu Machava, said on Wednesday.

At the end of a meeting of the Frelimo parliamentary group, chaired by Nyusi in his capacity as President of the party, Mulémbwè had declared “In this boat, Comrade President is the helmsman. We are saying that we set out on this boat in 2015 (when Nyusi was sworn into office for his first term), and we will be with you until we reach our port of destination in 2024”.

At a press conference, at the start of a working visit to Frelimo organizations in Maputo city, Machava dismissed Mulémbwè’s remarks as irrelevant. Cited by the independent television station STV, Machava said that Frelimo’s main concern right now is to prepare for its eleventh congress, scheduled for September, and not to discuss possible candidates for the presidency.

Mulémbwè’s statement “is just the opinion of one of our members”, he said.

It would not be at all surprising if Frelimo did indeed run Nyusi for a second term, but, under the Party’s statutes, that decision can only be taken by its Central Committee, and other Party must be given the opportunity to put their names forward.

A new Central Committee will be elected at the September Congress. The Congress will also elect the Party President, and is likely to confirm Nyusi in the post.

Source: AIM