Members of civil society based in Nampula province defend the holding of district elections scheduled for 2024. In their opinion, the country is in a position to bear all the costs of the process, which marks the consolidation of the decentralization in force.

The position was expressed during a public consultation promoted by the Center for Public Integrity (CIP) in the city of Nampula, on the feasibility of holding district elections next year.

Felismino Alfredo, representative of the Student Researchers Association, believes that the desire to postpone the elections shows arrogance and a lack of respect for political dialogue in the country. He said that his organization was saddened to hear that the draft law had been revised to cancel the district elections.

"And it is for these reasons that in Mozambique, under Frelimo rule since National Independence, we have always lived in cycles of violence, all because of a lack of constructive dialogue," he said.

The source believes that the President of the Republic's position on postponing the election shows infidelity, since the matter is already in the law. "We must respect the constitution, which is a sacred law, it must not be violated at any time, especially before it is implemented."

For his part, Mito Carvalho, coordinator of the Okhala Wa Amiravo Association, has aligned his thoughts with moving forward with district elections, because this is an issue whose basic principle is centered on participatory governance.

"The people must participate in all the processes linked to development, and they must also be the pioneers of local governance," he said.

The representative of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CDD), Palmira Revula, suspects that the postponement of the elections is an argument by the system to defraud the process. She stresses that the vote must take place and points to two preconditions.

"The first is based on respect for the constitution, which is our Mother Law. The elections are there and must be held. The second is that this is going to be a fundamental mechanism for the issue of the enjoyment of rights from the point of view of citizenship, believing that democracy will continually become real in the country," he said.

The Provincial Coordinator of the CDD believes that this time the "bet should be on the people" and that the will of Mozambicans should be respected.

However, regarding the process under discussion, Ércio Lopes, from the Community Alliance Association (ASSOAC) suggests a pilot project to measure the effectiveness of the new method.

"For 2024, I propose this way: in a pilot way we try out some districts, just to have an examination of this process," he said, agreeing that the current model, which is limited to the appointment of the District Administrator, is not viable, taking into account that that figure is only in the district to fulfill a party-political agenda.

The main basic services, such as health, education, water provision, infrastructure and sanitation, are all upside down in terms of their quality.

"We are facing unacceptable problems in the provision of basic services and this is not the Mozambique we want to build. We want to improve the lives of our Mozambican brothers and sisters," he said.

"The failure to hold district elections is certainly a blow to democracy, because democracy involves pluralism of expression and all voices must be heard. And since this is a matter of national interest, all Mozambicans must be involved. For as long as the government says that it can't exist, it's really in order to undermine democracy."

On this subject, CIP believes that the country's current system of administrative decentralization is the result of agreements reached between Frelimo and Renamo, the main opposition party in Mozambique, which involved a one-off revision of the Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique in 2018 and consequently the legislation. The Decentralization Commission's speedy process was simply aimed at the 2019 general elections, i.e. it did not involve the holistic participation of the various segments of Mozambican society.

CIP Director Edson Cortez says that since Filipe Nyusi and Afonso Dhlakhama signed an agreement, they haven't heard from any Mozambicans, which reveals "nepotism" on the part of the two parties.

He defends the expansion of debates aimed at decentralization, and also the removal of the decisive monopoly of the ruling party, Frelimo, and the bipolarization between Frelimo and Renamo.

"Thus, decentralization reforms should be taken as a national project and in the interests of the state, and not as a package to accommodate the interests of political parties." He said that, "this recommendation would give more stability and sustainability to the Constitution and the consequent normative instruments: laws, decrees, diplomas and more".

The general coordinator of the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP) says that the country still needs to find a consensus for holding the district elections, taking into account all the political, administrative, social and financial factors, and the component of functional articulation between the provincial governing bodies, municipal bodies and the decentralized district governing bodies.

For this reason, the source calls for greater involvement in this process, because the decision should be terminated to avoid seriously violating the Constitution of the Republic. (Text and photos by Alberto Júnior, from Nampula, for MZNews)