Africa-Press – Mozambique. The European Union ambassador to Mozambique, Antonino Maggiore, yesterday said he thought that Mozambique was ready to “write a new page” following the political agreement for state reforms and the meeting between the President of the Republic and former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane.
“A new page has been opened with these significant political initiatives. Now it is possible to write a new page for Mozambique. And the president has the task, a challenging but fundamental task, of leading the construction of the country’s present and future,” Ambassador Maggiore said.
The President of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, met this Wednesday with the European Union ambassador to Mozambique and ambassadors of the EU member states in the country to discuss and strengthen cooperation.
The EU ambassador highlighted the efforts of the President of Mozambique to achieve stability and peace in the country, when meeting with opposition political parties and former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, stating that the head of state “completed the dialogue with all interlocutors”.
“We welcome the reform and change agenda of the President of the Republic. (…) In this task of reforming the country, the president can count on the European Union and its member states. We are working with his team in the presidency and with the government and institutions to offer comprehensive and concrete support,” said Antonino Maggiore, noting that the EU intends to offer direct support to the reform process in the country.
On April 2, the Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique unanimously and definitively approved the law of the political agreement to pacify the country, which provides for the review of the Constitution and the powers of the president.
The legal provision is based on the agreement between the president, Daniel Chapo, and all political parties, signed on March 5 and submitted to the Assembly of the Republic for urgent consideration.
Within the scope of the constitutional reform, three objectives are assumed in the law, namely the “reform of the state”, with measures at the level of the “political system, the powers of the President (…), de-politicization of state institutions, decentralization and political, economic and financial de-concentration”.
The law also includes the “reform of the Justice system”, namely “mechanism for appointing the heads of Justice bodies and their respective financial and administrative independence”, and the “reform of the electoral system”, in this case with the “definition of a new model, composition of electoral administration bodies, electoral legislation, electoral justice bodies, among other aspects that contribute to the integrity of the entire electoral process”.
Based on the approval by parliament, a technical committee of 21 members will be set up – 18 from political parties and three appointed by civil society – to implement these measures, with a proposed budget of 91,471,200 meticais (€1.3 million), more than half of which will be for attendance fees, funds to be provided by the government and political parties.
Former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who does not recognise the results of the general elections held on 9 October, called for the protests that have resulted in around 360 deaths in five months.
However, on 23 March, Venâncio Mondlane and Daniel Chapo met for the first time and a commitment was made to end the violence in the country.
Since October, 388 people have died, according to the most recent report by Plataforma Decide, a Mozambican non-governmental organisation that monitors electoral processes.
The Mozambican government confirmed at least 80 deaths, in addition to the destruction of 1,677 commercial establishments, 177 schools and 23 health units during the demonstrations.
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