The president of Frelimo and Mozambican head of state, Filipe Nyusi, appealed this Friday in the opening speech of the XII Congress for the debates to move away from a divisive “agenda” and focus on solving the country’s problems.
“Our ultimate goal is to guarantee victories” in the next electoral cycle, “a fundamental condition so that we can continue to better serve Mozambicans. This is our reason for being as Frelimo,” he said.
Therefore, we call on everyone to lead the debates within our agenda, an agenda that unites us and not an agenda that can divide us”, Nyusi detailed in his speech.
Analysts told Lusa on Thursday that, as in other congresses and at the cusp of a new electoral cycle, different wings should seek seats in the bodies that will elect the 2024 presidential candidate.
On Wednesday, the Political Commission of Frelimo reprimanded in a statement a militant who raised a point outside the agenda approved at the last meeting of the central committee – Castigo Langa asked Nyusi not to seek a third term as head of the country.
This Friday, as soon as the work began, the president of the party said that he hoped that the approximately 1,500 delegates would concentrate on the daily problems of Mozambicans.
The cost of living, the fight against terrorism and the impact of climate change are some of these issues, listed in a list highlighted by the party leader, who asked for “responses from society that stopped to listen to us today”, in allusion to the live broadcast on various television channels and the representation of all the provinces among the delegates.
On the government side, he said, the new Single Salary Table for the civil service, which raises the minimum wage, is ready to move forward, as soon as it is approved by parliament.
THE The “sustainability of the party” and the “need for rejuvenation” of that political force are also on the same list. of subjects that for Nyusi are of special importance.
Filipe Nyusi also called for reflection on the feasibility of starting to hold district elections in 2024, as defined in the framework of the understandings with the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo, opposition) that led to the peace agreement in 2019.
It is not about Frelimo’s fear of going to the polls, he stressed, but an observation by those who have experience in the matter, that the decentralization process deserves greater depth, he reiterated, in line with what he has been advocating in recent months. .
Part of the speech was dedicated to the special relations with neighboring Tanzania and the ties forged in the Mozambican struggle for independence, against Portuguese colonialism, in a session that was attended by the Tanzanian president, Samia Suluhu, as guest of honor.
Filipe Nyusi also congratulated João Lourenço and the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) for the August electoral victory in that Portuguese-speaking country.
Frelimo meets from this Friday until Wednesday for its big meeting in which the current leader is the only announced candidate for the presidency.
During the meeting in Matola, a suburb of Maputo, new governing bodies will also be elected: the Central Committee, which will be responsible for electing the general secretary, the Political Commission and the Verification Committee.
After the congress, the election of the candidate for the 2024 presidential elections will go through the new bodies.
The XII Frelimo Congress has the participation of around 1,500 delegates.
Source: Observadora
