The President was criticised by Renamo for taking a photo with the Frelimo candidate, but a source in the Presidency says that Marcelo is available to meet with other candidates.
The President of the Republic expressed his dissatisfaction with the use of his image by the candidate of the ruling party, Frelimo, who placed the party’s logo on a photograph that Daniel Chapo took with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in Portugal. After this image, the Renamo party accused Marcelo of “involvement” in the Frelimo pre-campaign. A source from the Presidency of the Republic denies favoritism and assures the Observer that “if they invite the President to a dinner by other candidates The presidential elections in Mozambique will have the same availability.”
The photo that Marcelo took with Daniel Chapo and that was the origin of the controversy.
According to the Observer, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was invited by a private Portuguese party to be present at the dinner and, as it was a public event, he agreed to be with the Frelimo candidate. The President of the Republic took photographs with several figures present at the dinner, including a group photo, but then ended up taking photos alone with Daniel Chapo, a candidate to succeed the current president of Mozambique, Filipe Nyusi.
The photograph had already been circulating among various groups in the Mozambican community in recent days, with the Frelimo logo underneath. Renamo, the main opposition party, said on Tuesday, in a statement cited by the Lusa agency, that it was “surprised” by the photograph and “expresses its displeasure at this event and regrets the involvement of the Portuguese president in the pre-campaign”, hoping for better consideration.
In the same statement, Renamo said it “observed with surprise the meeting between the President of the Portuguese Republic (…) and the Frelimo candidate for the presidential elections next October, Daniel Francisco Chapo.”
Source: Observadora
