The violation of the confidentiality clause of the Manhiça Collegiate Agreement of August 2024 by former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane led the Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique (PODEMOS) to break off relations.

The party supported Mondlane's candidacy in 2024, after the National Electoral Commission rejected the candidacy of the Democratic Alliance Coalition for the October 9 general elections. But, in fact, the party recognizes that it became the leader of the opposition in parliament thanks to Venancio Mondlane's endorsement.

PODEMOS accuses Venâncio Mondlane of a "populist strategy" and of "extremist" actions and of promoting civil disobedience.

At a Political Council meeting yesterday, the party decided that "from now on, the electoral process having been completed with the validation and proclamation of the results by the Constitutional Council, even without agreeing with them, the support of the Optimistic People for the Development of Mozambique (PODEMOS) for the candidacy of Venâncio Mondlane in the October 9 elections has also been definitively terminated".

Venâncio Mondlane went public to express his displeasure at the fact that PODEMOS had rushed to take its 43 seats in the Assembly of the Republic when, in Mondlane's view, the people most need the party to continue the fight to restore electoral truth and justice for those who lost their lives during the protests. He considered the party's stance to be a betrayal.

Mondlane has already announced the creation of a party, but for the time being, with PODEMOS' decision, he is prohibited from using the symbols of the political formation.

"The party concluded that Venâncio Mondlane acts as a confessed extremist, who in his populist, unrealistic strategy, urges the youth to kill those who equally kill others, uses 'media' to spread false and defamatory information," PODEMOS said.