3 July 2009
Maputo — Afonso Dhlakama, leader of Mozambique's main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo, has categorically denied claims in some of the press that he has contracted a polygamous marriage with the Renamo delegate in the northern province of Nampula, Lucia Afate.
The story first saw the light of day in the Bula-Bula gossip column on the back page of the Sunday paper "Domingo". This thoroughly unreliable column has run the story for the past two weeks, and even claimed that Dhlakama has adopted a moslem name, Ossufo Jamal Djalaludine. The story was echoed in this week's edition of a second weekly paper "Magazine Independente".
But interviewed by the independent television station STV, Dhlakama said the story had been planted "to destabilize my family", and was a reaction to the supposed political success of his current tour of Nampula.
He said this tactic would not work because "Rosaria (his wife) knows that it's propaganda. I am married, and my family knows that I am here in Nampula to work".
For Dhlakama, the fact that the "Bula-Bula" story is unsigned is an indication that it is false. "It's a joke in bad taste", he added, and threatened that he would sue "Domingo" for libel.
Dhlakama was speaking in the coastal district of Memba, where he held a rally denouncing the ruling Frelimo Party for allegedly sabotaging voter registration. He claimed that Frelimo was withholding registration material from zones where Renamo is known to enjoy majority support.
The problem with this accusation is that the voter registration is not organised by Frelimo but by the National Elections Commission (CNE), and by its executive body the Electoral Administration Secretariat (STAE). The CNE has thirteen members, three appointed by Frelimo, two by Renamo, and eight, including the chairperson, from civil society organisations.
"They don't want the people to register", claimed Dhlakama. "Frelimo is afraid of losing".
Dhlakama claimed that the problems with the registration were so serious that "only three per cent" of voters had registered. In fact, the vast majority of voters registered in 2007 and 2008. The current voter registration, running from 15 June to 29 July, is mainly for Mozambicans who were too young to register last year.
People who turn 18 before the general election date of 28 October are the largest target group for the voter registration brigades. Anyone over 18 who failed to register, for whatever reason, in previous years may do so now. The brigades are also issuing new voter cards to people who have moved address, or who have lost their old cards.
The number of people registered before 15 June was 9,300,612. By 29 July, STAE hopes to have registered a further 483,000 people.
Registered political parties are entitled to send monitors to accompany the work of the registration brigades - but when the CNE chairperson, Joao Leopoldo da Costa, visited the central district of Buzi (supposedly a Renamo stronghold) earlier this week, he found that the parties are not taking advantage of this provision in the law.
Costa visited several Buzi registration posts, and in only one were there any political party monitors - these were from Frelimo and from the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM). There was no sign of Renamo. In most of the posts even Frelimo monitors were not present.
"We in the CNE would like monitors and observers to accompany the entire process of updating the electoral registers, because this helps us and gives the registration credibility", said Costa, cited in Friday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias".
The chairperson of the Buzi district elections commission, Jose Costa Miguel, claimed that, out of a target of 2,981 new voters, so far the district brigades had registered almost 1,000. The true figure was probably larger, but the District Commission has found it difficult to collect data from posts in the more remote part of the district.
Costa announced that two motor bikes have been repaired, which will allow officials to visit all the posts and collect the figures.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
