Mozambique’s opposition leader ready to serve in rival government

Mozambique’s main opposition leader Venancio Mondlane has told the BBC he is ready to serve in a government if President Daniel Chapo meets his demands to end the country’s political crisis following disputed elections.

Chapo said he has set up a team that is considering whether his rival should be invited to join the new “inclusive” government.

Both men outlined their stances in separate interviews with the BBC, giving the impression that they were open to rapprochement after the post-election unrest left nearly 300 people dead.

Mondlane rejected his defeat in the October election and said the results were rigged – which Chapo denied.

Mozambique’s supreme court declared Chapo the winner with 65% of the vote to Mondlane’s 24%.

Chapo was the candidate of the ruling FRELIMO party, as his predecessor Filipe Nyusi was forced to step down after serving two terms in office.

Chapo was officially sworn in as president on January 15, about a week after Mondlane held his inauguration ceremony to declare himself “the people’s president”.

Mondlane told the BBC that Chapo was “forced” on the country and was “president of the defense force”.

Mondlane said that nevertheless, he has decided to suspend the protests for the first 100 days of his opponent’s term, provided he does the following:

• Nearly 5,000 people detained for taking part in protests against the election results should be released unconditionally
• Give financial compensation to the families of those killed by the police during protests and
• Police offered free medical treatment to around 200 people injured.

Mondlane said that if Chapo agreed to this, he would “open a window” for negotiations or he would ask his supporters to resume protests.

Asked if he was willing to work in Chapo’s government, Mondlane replied: “Yes, if he has a true interest in working with me. He has the chance to invite me to the negotiating table. “

In his interview with the BBC, Chapo said he wanted to “govern in an inclusive way”, and bring about reforms to address concerns about electoral law, human rights and freedom of expression.

He said negotiations were currently underway with opposition parties represented in the new parliament, and that they would later be expanded to include “all sections of society”.

Chapo said he wanted to form a government that was “open to all Mozambicans”, but he wanted to emphasize that “the profile of the people is very important”.

Asked whether he believed Mondlane was qualified to serve in the government, Chapo responded: “It would depend… because there is a team that is looking at it right now, the profile of the people. But, their qualifications, their ability, their patriotism – all these pre-requisites that I am mentioning.

“If the team comes to the conclusion that the profile of these people is correct, they will be part of the government. Those who do not have that profile will not take part.”

At the age of 47, Chapo was chosen by Frelimo, which has been in power since independence 49 years ago, as its candidate in a bid to rally young voters affected by high unemployment and fed up with the party’s decades-long rule. Could.

He told the BBC that he wanted local and foreign investment to increase in Mozambique to make the economy “more dynamic”.

This will help create jobs for youth so they can “build their own houses, establish their families and stabilize their lives”.

Mondlane, 50, received widespread support during the election campaign after rallying youth with the slogan “Save Mozambique – this country is ours”.

He broke away from the main opposition Renamo party and contested the election as an independent.

A small party supporting his candidacy won some parliamentary seats in the election.