The Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique (PODEMOS) held a controversial election of its new Secretary General, due to the fact that the old one, Sebastião Mussanhane, had become a member of the Assembly of the Republic and spokesperson for the respective parliamentary caucus.

Four members ran for the post, including Alberto Ferreira, who beat his competitors with around 37% of the vote. The losers demanded a second round of voting as the most voted member did not have an absolute majority.

However, the party's statutes do not provide for or require an absolute majority for the election of its members to internal positions.

Party leader Albino Forquilha's acquiescence to the defeated candidates' demands - even in violation of the statutes - led Ferreira to go to court with an injunction to stop a second round of voting.

Questioned by the press, Forquilha asserted that the party's decision would prevail, trampling on its statutes, and that he would proceed to the second round.

On another occasion, he said that going to court to the detriment of party bodies "reveals ignorance" of the party's own internal statutes. 

Meanwhile, last week, the Judicial Court of the Kamavota Municipal District, in Maputo City, ruled in favor of Alberto Ferreira. It upheld the injunction and prevented the second round of voting for the Secretary General from taking place.

The party has not yet reacted to the court decision, but there seems to be internal conformism and a willingness to accompany the peaceful transition of 'power'.