Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
25 June 2009
Maputo — Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, speaking in his capacity as President of the ruling Frelimo Party, on Wednesday praised the Frelimo parliamentary deputies for the "responsibility, maturity and serenity" they have shown during the current legislature.
Meeting with the Frelimo parliamentary group at the party's Maputo headquarters, Guebuza said it was the Frelimo deputies who had ensured, over the past four and a half years, that the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, has been able to function.
It was only their "discipline, punctuality and effective participation in the work of the Assembly" he added, which "allowed our parliament to continue its noble mission of legislating to speed up the fight against poverty".
"Through dialogue and parliamentary debate", he told the deputies, "you have contributed towards strengthening our multi-party democracy, and the culture of peace, tolerance and respect for differences".
Guebuza praised the work the deputies had done in their constituencies, which he believed had contributed to Frelimo's overwhelming victory in last November's municipal elections (in which Frelimo candidates were elected mayor in 42 of the 43 municipalities, and Frelimo emerged the largest party in all 43 municipal assemblies).
He urged the deputies to participate fully in the current round of internal elections within Frelimo, which will select the candidates for the 28 October parliamentary and provincial elections. Those elections should be a moment for the party to strengthen its unity and cohesion.
"There are no winners or losers in the internal elections", said Guebuza. "We all emerge from them winning".
But the deputies know that Frelimo's rules on "renewal in continuity" means that they cannot all be on the party's lists for the forthcoming elections. A maximum of 60 per cent of the current Frelimo deputies will be candidates in October.
This was the third meeting between Guebuza and the Frelimo parliamentary group since the election of the current parliament in December 2004, and will certainly be the last, since the current sitting of the assembly is due to end on Saturday.
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