Mozambique: Speaker of Parliament criticises Renamo protest during President’s State of the Nation Address – Watch

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Mozambique: Speaker of Parliament criticises Renamo protest during President’s State of the Nation Address – Watch

8:14 CAT | 22 Dec 2023

Screen grab: O País

The president of the Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique this Friday criticised the protest by the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), the main opposition party, during the head of state’s State of the Nation Address on Thursday.

“The behaviour adopted by the Renamo parliamentary bench constitutes a great lack of respect for the nation’s highest magistrate, the head of state,” Esperança Bias said during the closing of this year’s sessions in the Mozambican parliament today.

At issue is an episode that occurred on Thursday, in which the Renamo parliamentary bench, the main opposition force, booed and momentarily interrupted the speech of the Mozambican head of state, Filipe Nyusi, during his annual State of the Nation address.

Dressed in black shirts, with slogans condemning what they call the “mega-fraud” of the October 11 local elections, Renamo deputies turned their backs on the head of state when the speaker called on him to give his speech.

For Esperança Bias, the Renamo deputies’ behaviour fell short of the “dignity” required of deputies, whose duty is to “respect” the authorities.

“I also want to apologise to the head of state and the Mozambican people for the less-than dignified behaviour demonstrated by the deputies of the Renamo parliamentary group,” she declared.

Shouting and singing party songs, Renamo deputies booed Filipe Nyusi, demanding the restoration of “electoral truth” and calling the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), “thieves”.

“We want electoral truth,” the Renamo deputies shouted during Filipe Nyusi’s speech, despite the protestations of the parliament’s president.

“Trufufa, Trufufa, it’s Renamo that’s passing. But it’s Renamo who won,” the deputies sang, an excerpt from a Renamo song popular during the elections.

“The people are listening and we will continue,” Filipe Nyusi said after one of the at-least three interruptions to his speech.

The Renamo deputies continued to sing and shout, making it near impossible to understand Filipe Nyusi’s speech, despite him raising his voice.

Renamo has continued to lead protests across the country against what it calls a “mega-fraud” in the October 11 local elections.

The Constitutional Council (CC), the body of last resort in electoral matters, with competence to validate elections in Mozambique, on 24 November proclaimed Frelimo the winner of the local elections in 56 municipalities, against the previous 64, with Renamo winning four, and ordered elections to be repeated in four others.

The streets of some Mozambican cities, including Maputo, have seen repeated demonstrations against what the opposition considers fraud in the local elections process and against the results initially announced by the CNE, which were also criticised by civil society and non-governmental organisations.

Source: Lusa / O País