The Mozambican Government and main opposition party Renamo are close to reach a consensus on the first item of the agenda of their negotiations, concerning the electoral law.
On Thursday, July 10, 2013, during the 11th round of negotiations, in which the issues raised between the fifth and the tenth meeting were reviewed, the Executive "relented" and agreed in General with the proposal submitted by the "Partridge", but not in the specifics.
According to Saimone Macuiana, the head of Renamo's delegation, the Government agrees with the 12 points of the document and considers them relevant, however, there are differences regarding some points.
"The Government says it does not agree with certain points, and we asked it to substantiate. The request was accepted. The content of our proposal comes down to two bodies, namely the National Elections Commission (CNE) and the Technical Secretariat of Electoral Administration".
José Pacheco, who heads the Government delegation, explained that although the Commission agrees with all the points of the document, the parties haven's reached consensus in some parts. He added that "Renamo has requested time to review the issues in the specifics".
Minutes
The other issue that dominated the 11th round of negotiations has to do with the signature of the proceedings pending since the fifth session. Last week, the Government signed it unilaterally and sent them to the Renamo Headquarters via mail. On July 16, the Renamo delegation agreed to support them but only after examining its content. For José Pacheco that is strange because the minutes reflect what the parties had discussed before.
Meeting between Guebuza and Dhlakama
On the expected meeting between the Head of State, Armando Guebuza, and the President of Renamo, Afonso Dhlakama, Saimone Macuiana, the head of Renamo's delegation, has reiterated once again that it depends on the conditions that his party has imposed. Either the elements of the Armed Forces of Mozambique's Defence and the Rapid Intervention Force are removed from the Gorongosa region, so that Renamo's leader may come to Maputo, or the President of the Republic travels to that district.
For Pacheco, these requirements make no sense because, firstly the PR has been twice in Nampula, where Dhlakama resided, which shows his openness to dialogue, and, secondly, "no political party can give orders or determine where the defence and security forces should be, how they should act, etc".
Demilitarization
On the demilitarization of Renamo, it was agreed that it will be addressed when the second point of the agenda on protection and safety is discussed. "The Government insisted but the Renamo believes that the matter will be handled when the discussion of the electoral law is discussed," said Pacheco.
Comments Post a comment