Urgent Call For Transitional Authority In Mozambique …Amid election Crisis And Deadly Unrest

Musa Makina

AN international peace-building organization, the Centre for Cultural Diplomacy – Africa, has called for urgent negotiations to establish a transitional authority in Mozambique following the country’s disputed October 2024 elections.

This call comes after Mozambican opposition leader Venancio Mondlane rejected the election results, which extended the ruling Frelimo party’s power, and sparked deadly protests.

The Centre’s recommendation urges the formation of a transitional government tasked with stabilizing the nation’s political and economic crisis, as well as organizing new elections within two years.

This proposal comes after escalating violence, with over 150 killed since October, and growing unrest in the wake of the Constitutional Court’s endorsement of the election results.

Walter Mzembi, the former Zimbabwean Foreign Affairs Minister and president of the think-tank, emphasized the urgent need for an inclusive government to restore peace.

“Establish a credible Council/Panel of Elders and Eminent Persons from the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) and within Africa to start a process of engagement to consummate an inclusive transitional authority/Government of National Unity that will stabilise the political situation, stabilise the economy battered by violence and destruction of infrastructure,” Mzembi wrote on January 6, 2024 in response to Mondlane’s request to intervene in his country’s crisis.

Mzembi said the transitional authority will be charged with organising fresh elections within two years.

He said the talks led by a Panel or Council of Elders must be financed by an agreed Sadc and Mozambique framework supported by all political players in that country.

“The discussions undertaken by the Council/Panel of Elders and Eminent Persons should report to Sadc but not to be cajoled or coaxed by the main Sadc body on its operations to bring peace and stability in Mozambique.”
As Mozambique prepares for the inauguration of President-elect Daniel Chapo on January 15, Mondlane has vowed to hold a rival ceremony, declaring himself president.
The crisis, Mondlane argues, threatens regional stability and economic cooperation, impacting neighboring countries.
On January 5, an extraordinary summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and its Troika issued a call for dialogue to resolve Mozambique’s escalating political crisis.

In response, opposition leader Venancio Mondlane warned that the ongoing unrest could destabilize the entire region. In a December 29 appeal to the Centre for Cultural Diplomacy – Africa, Mondlane emphasized that the crisis in Mozambique poses a direct threat to the economic interests of neighboring countries. He highlighted how the political turmoil is disrupting trade, cooperation, and regional security.