Mozambique: Renamo's National Council meets without Dhlakama

As expected, Renamo’s National Council is meeting this week in the central city of Beira. The agenda is primarily to discuss their electoral manifesto for October's general elections. For the first time in Renamo history, party leader Afonso Dhlakama will be absent. The party spokesman has said, however, that Dhlakama will launch his presidential election campaign by telephone from his Gorongosa mountain hideout.

Dhlakama’s absence is important because the meeting will also see the election of representatives as prospective MPs, and also appoint the party’s presidential candidate. There is no doubt that Dhlakama will be proclaimed as Renamo’s presidential candidate but the party is still very behind Frelimo and MDM.

Renamo has not officially registered a candidate for October’s elections, and its members are yet to collect the supporting signatures that Dhlakama will need for his presidential bid. The question many are asking at this stage is whether Renamo will manage - in just three months - to assemble an effective electoral arsenal to win enough seats in parliament, or whether will it opt to continue to rely on bullets instead of the ballot to change Mozambique's political system.

For more news and expert analysis about Mozambique, please see Mozambique Politics & Security.

© 2014 Menas Associates