In the document submitted today to the presidency office and the attorney general’s office (PGR) containing terms of reference and agenda proposals, Mondlane made the meeting scheduled for Tuesday between the head of state, Filipe Nyusi, and the four presidential candidates conditional on the “release of all those detained as part of the demonstrations” that he had called for, asking for “guarantees of political and legal security for the actors and players in the dialogue”.
“The immediate restoration of fundamental rights and freedoms that have now been restricted in the face of illegal, partial and immoral legal proceedings brought by the PGR (…) is essential. This has culminated in the blocking of his bank accounts, orders for his arrest, presupposing search and arrest warrants,” reads the document.
In the same letter, Mondlane made “free and daily access to the sessions by the press” a condition for dialogue, including the participation of the media in some sessions.
Mondlane also made the meeting conditional on the participation of institutions such as the Constitutional Council, the Parliament, the Supreme Court, the Administrative Court, the Prime Minister’s Office, the PGR, the Bar Association and the Medical Association.
Among the individuals “representing Mozambicans”, Mondlane proposed the participation of the former president of the National Electoral Commission (CNE) Brasão Mazula and academics Severino Ngoenha, João Mosca, Roberto Timbana and Narciso Matos.
He also asked for the inclusion of constitutionalist Teodato Hunguana, a senior member of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), retired judge João Trindade, general Bertolino Capetine, captain Abdul Machava, writer Paulina Chiziane and social activists Adriano Nuvunga, Fátima Mimbire and Quitéria Guirringane.
Mondlane wants the meeting to also include the participation of Archbishop João Carlos and the Islamic community represented by Maulana Nazir.
In the same document, Venâncio Mondlane suggested the participation of the United Nations and the African Union as observers.
Among the items on the agenda, Mondlane proposes for debate what he calls the “re-establishment of the electoral truth”, the criminal and civil liability of what he calls the actors involved in falsifying the electoral process and documents and that, within six months, priority be given to harmonising and satisfying all the demands of the various professional classes, including teachers, health professionals, judges, prosecutors, police and civil service agents.
The presidential candidate also demanded that the agenda include constitutional reform of the state, financial, economic and fiscal reform, reform of electoral bodies and legislation, namely the abolition of the CNE and the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE), and the creation of a law for the de-partisanship of the state.
Mondlane also called for the “elimination of insurgency in Cabo Delgado within a period of no more than one year” to be discussed, a reflection aimed at lowering the cost of living and the provision of free snacks, school supplies and uniforms for children from 1st to 5th grade.
The Mozambican head of state has invited the candidates for the October presidential elections to a meeting on 26 November to “discuss the situation of the country in the post-election period”, sources from the candidates confirmed to Lusa.
The meeting will take place in Filipe Nyusi’s office in Maputo on Tuesday at 4pm (2pm in Lisbon), according to the same sources, involving candidates Daniel Chapo, Venâncio Mondlane, Lutero Simango and Ossufo Momade.
Mondlane, who does not accept the results announced by the National Electoral Commission (CNE), which still have to be validated by the Constitutional Council, pointing to various irregularities in the electoral process, rejects a dialogue “behind closed doors” and with “little secrets”.
He disputes the fact that Daniel Chapo, the candidate supported by the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo), won with 70.67% of the vote, according to the results announced on 24 October by the CNE.
*With Lusa
