Maputo — The mayor of Beira, Daviz Simango, has predicted that the new opposition party he leads, the Mozambican Democratic Movement (MDM), could win between 50 and 100 seats in the October parliamentary elections.
The Mozambican parliament has 250 seats. Currently, 160 are held by the ruling Frelimo Party and 90 by the former rebel movement Renamo. The MDM is essentially a split from Renamo - Simango himself was expelled from Renamo in September 2008. But he claims that the MDM is recruiting people who previously had no party affiliation, and even some defectors from Frelimo.
Interviewed by Friday's issue of the weekly paper "A Verdade", Simango was asked what he would regard as a good result. "Since the MDM is not currently represented in parliament if it just wins one seat, that will be a novelty, since it will be a third force entering parliament. But we expect to have between 50 and 100 deputies in the next legislature", he replied.
"If we manage between 50 and 100, that will be a good result", he said, "but everything depends on the voters. We could win more than 100 or even get a majority (which would be 126 seats). In these things there are lots of surprises".
Asked if the MDM's main goal was to overtake Renamo, Simango said "we wouldn't like to talk in terms of overtaking Renamo or Frelimo. We want to enter parliament, and if we win a majority, that will be excellent. But if we manage to have an influential voice in the great decisions taken by parliament, that is already grounds for satisfaction".
So was the MDM aiming for power or not? "Obviously we formed a political party to win power", said Simango. "As for the moment when the electorate gives us that power, that will depend on the voters. But we are anxious for that moment".
Simango added that, if the MDM lost the elections, it would not follow Renamo's example and blame defeat on fraud committed by Frelimo. The MDM intended to train polling station monitors to guard against any fraud. "We have to ask ourselves: when there's fraud, where were we? Why did we have no capacity for vigilance? Where did we fail?".
"We have to take responsibility for our own shortcomings", he said. "Because if somebody commits fraud, it's because they had the opportunity to do so. The MDM is not going to lament about frauds as the cause of failure. We have to accept our defeats, our weaknesses".
Asked if he envisaged a post-election coalition between the MDM and Renamo to make it impossible for Frelimo to govern, Simango replied that the MDM approach was quite different. "We will never form a coalition just in order to make it impossible for Frelimo to govern", he said. "We will form coalitions if it is in the interests of the people, if the people benefit from it. But coalitions must be in order to build the country, and not just to block another political organisation. That's not our philosophy".
If the party that won the elections presented a programme that the MDM regarded as viable, then it would be the MDM's responsibility to support it "and turn this project into a national project. But if the winning party presented a project which the MDM regarded as wrong, "then logically we shall present a counter-proposal, hoping that the party in power can take something positive from it".
Simango did not reject the possibility of coalitions, "but they must be clear and objective, and contribute to the development of the country".
As for the presidential election, Simango said that it would be up to the MDM National Council, meeting this weekend in the northern city of Nampula, to choose a candidate - but he admitted that he was likely to be that candidate, and he was prepared to stand.
He declared that the MDM's style of governance would not be discriminatory, and he had already shown that in his five years as mayor of Beira. The MDM was prepared to work with anybody, including Frelimo, and regarded professional competence as more important than political party membership.
"If they're competent, I will appoint general directors and even ministers from other parties", he promised. "If they are competent there is no reason to replace them. What is necessary is that they can meet the expectations of citizens, and that they are loyal to the government's programme".
The Mozambican parliament has 250 seats. Currently, 160 are held by the ruling Frelimo Party and 90 by the former rebel movement Renamo. The MDM is essentially a split from Renamo - Simango himself was expelled from Renamo in September 2008. But he claims that the MDM is recruiting people who previously had no party affiliation, and even some defectors from Frelimo.
Interviewed by Friday's issue of the weekly paper "A Verdade", Simango was asked what he would regard as a good result. "Since the MDM is not currently represented in parliament if it just wins one seat, that will be a novelty, since it will be a third force entering parliament. But we expect to have between 50 and 100 deputies in the next legislature", he replied.
"If we manage between 50 and 100, that will be a good result", he said, "but everything depends on the voters. We could win more than 100 or even get a majority (which would be 126 seats). In these things there are lots of surprises".
Asked if the MDM's main goal was to overtake Renamo, Simango said "we wouldn't like to talk in terms of overtaking Renamo or Frelimo. We want to enter parliament, and if we win a majority, that will be excellent. But if we manage to have an influential voice in the great decisions taken by parliament, that is already grounds for satisfaction".
So was the MDM aiming for power or not? "Obviously we formed a political party to win power", said Simango. "As for the moment when the electorate gives us that power, that will depend on the voters. But we are anxious for that moment".
Simango added that, if the MDM lost the elections, it would not follow Renamo's example and blame defeat on fraud committed by Frelimo. The MDM intended to train polling station monitors to guard against any fraud. "We have to ask ourselves: when there's fraud, where were we? Why did we have no capacity for vigilance? Where did we fail?".
"We have to take responsibility for our own shortcomings", he said. "Because if somebody commits fraud, it's because they had the opportunity to do so. The MDM is not going to lament about frauds as the cause of failure. We have to accept our defeats, our weaknesses".
Asked if he envisaged a post-election coalition between the MDM and Renamo to make it impossible for Frelimo to govern, Simango replied that the MDM approach was quite different. "We will never form a coalition just in order to make it impossible for Frelimo to govern", he said. "We will form coalitions if it is in the interests of the people, if the people benefit from it. But coalitions must be in order to build the country, and not just to block another political organisation. That's not our philosophy".
If the party that won the elections presented a programme that the MDM regarded as viable, then it would be the MDM's responsibility to support it "and turn this project into a national project. But if the winning party presented a project which the MDM regarded as wrong, "then logically we shall present a counter-proposal, hoping that the party in power can take something positive from it".
Simango did not reject the possibility of coalitions, "but they must be clear and objective, and contribute to the development of the country".
As for the presidential election, Simango said that it would be up to the MDM National Council, meeting this weekend in the northern city of Nampula, to choose a candidate - but he admitted that he was likely to be that candidate, and he was prepared to stand.
He declared that the MDM's style of governance would not be discriminatory, and he had already shown that in his five years as mayor of Beira. The MDM was prepared to work with anybody, including Frelimo, and regarded professional competence as more important than political party membership.
"If they're competent, I will appoint general directors and even ministers from other parties", he promised. "If they are competent there is no reason to replace them. What is necessary is that they can meet the expectations of citizens, and that they are loyal to the government's programme".
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