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The Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), the country’s second largest opposition party, in the early hours of Sunday, elected the head of the party’s parliamentary group, Lutero Simango, as its new President.
Meeting in Beira, at the party’s third congress, the delegates overwhelmingly chose Simango as their new leader, with 452 votes (88 per cent) to 51 (10 per cent) for his sole opponent, MDM parliamentarian, Silverio Ronguane. There were also two blank ballots and nine invalid votes.
The third candidate, MDM general secretary Jose Domingos, withdrew from the race at the last moment.
According to the report on the Congress in the independent daily “O Pais” Domingos announced his withdrawal immediately after the delegates had rejected his report from the party’s secretariat.
He then left the Congress altogether, taking his supporters with him, even before the voting had begun.
The other two candidates were always at a major disadvantage, because Simango is far and away the best known figure in the MDM. He is also the older brother of the founder and first leader of the party, Daviz Simango, who died of illness in February.
“I would like to thank you for the confidence you have placed in me”, declared Simango, after his victory was announced. “This is not the time for speeches – it’s the time to celebrate our internal democracy”.
But Domingos might not agree. It was reported that his supporters were meeting elsewhere in Beira to discuss their next move, and have not ruled out the possibility of challenging the results.
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