The Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique (PODEMOS) pulled off a surprise in the October 9 General Elections, winning second place in the legislature with 31 mandates.

According to the data released today by the National Electoral Commission (CNE), Renamo, which was once considered the main opposition party in Mozambique, will be relegated to the third political force in the next legislature with only 20 mandates.

And if the Constitutional Council validates the results released by the CNE, on January 25, 2025, the PODEMOS party will debut its presence in the Assembly of the Republic as the main opposition political force.

According to a list cited by Letter from MozambiqueIn Maputo city, the party led by Albino Forquilha managed to elect Carlos Tembe and Rute Manjate as deputies, compared to the two seats allocated by the CNE.

In Maputo province, where PODEMOS won six seats, Sebastião Mussanhane, António Acácio, Alfredo Pelembe, Ivandro Massingue, Aristides Novela and Simião Nuvunga will represent the population of that constituency.

In the province of Inhambane, where PODEMOS won a mandate, Nalfa Fumo will be responsible for representing the population of that province in Parliament, while in Sofala, PODEMOS deputies Chico Tomo Mapenda and Valter Mabjaia were elected.

In the Manica constituency, Mangaze Manuel and Forquilha Albino Forquilha are the only PODEMOS MPs elected, as is Mário Manguene in Tete province. Cacildo Basílio Muicocome, Fernando Jone and Almério Tchambule are the PODEMOS MPs for the Zambézia constituency.

In Nampula, the largest constituency in the country and the only one in which PODEMOS, according to the CNE/ STAE duo, managed to elect 10 deputies, Armando Joaquim, Luísa António, Dias Coutinho, Gonçalves Macuácua, Atija Mussa, Bonifácio Suliva, Tome Nantar, Jafete Eurico, Adelino Puaneleque and Gabriel Macuelas are due to take office in January 2025.

In the Niassa constituency, Ângelo Jaime was elected deputy for PODEMOS, while Elísio Muaquina, Zainaba Andala and José Suail José were elected for Cabo Delgado province.

Meanwhile, according to the same publication, this list of MPs elected by PODEMOS, a newcomer to parliament, is still provisional, as it could be altered if the Constitutional Council judges decide to change the results produced by the CNE/STAE duo, as happened in the 2023 local elections.

(Photo DR)