Mozambican mayor accuses Frelimo and MDM of trying to “kill democracy” – report

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Mozambican mayor accuses Frelimo and MDM of trying to “kill democracy” – report

1:53 CAT | 08 Feb 2019

Photo: Manuel Araujo / Facebook

The re-elected president of Quelimane Municipal Council, Manuel de Araújo, has accused Frelimo, the ruling party, and the Mozambican Democratic Movement (MDM), Mozambique’s third-largest political party, of trying to “kill” democracy.

“Frelimo and the MDM came together to assassinate the rule of law and kill democracy. The Administrative Tribunal was on the same track, but fortunately there is still some judgement in the minds of some judges,” Manuel de Araújo said during his inauguration in Quelimane, the provincial capital of Zambezia.

At the heart of the matter is a request submitted by the Frelimo-led government and the MDM to the Constitutional Council for the removal of the mayor because he had changed sides in the last elections.

A Council of Ministers decision forced Araújo to resign after competing for Renamo, the main opposition party, for a new term as leader of the city, while still performing that function on behalf of the MDM.

Araújo appealed the Council of Ministers’ decision to the Administrative Tribunal claiming that he had not been given the opportunity to defend himself and that the wrong law had been applied to the case. However, that body rejected his appeal in a ruling published on 11 January, only a few weeks before the end of his mandate.

Araujo’s statements at the inauguration ceremony, attended by Agriculture Minister Higino de Marrule, were the most incisive among the 53 new mayors who took office across the country yesterday.

In Maputo, elected mayor Eneas Comiche promised to prioritise the improvement of peripheral neighbourhoods, with a special emphasis on the fight against corruption.

“We will set up a hotline so that people can report corruption in schools and health centres,” Comiche said.

Comiche, 79, was mayor of Maputo from 2003 and 2008, and has served as finance minister and governor of the Bank of Mozambique.

Source: Lusa