• He submitted his candidacy with 20,000 signatures and "left the others to rest"
• The class has already passed through the three major parties, and is now entering the arena with CAD

Venâncio Mondlane has just submitted his candidacy for the Presidency of the Republicin the Constitutional Council, with a view to the general elections on October 9. The action was led by his lawyer Elvino Dias.

"This is a candidacy that must demonstrate a new era for Mozambique, in which we have to put an end to party fundamentalism in Mozambique. We have to move towards a common agenda, a national agenda. We think about a national project far beyond the circles where we think we are the owners," he said.

According to the candidate, 20,000 signatures were submitted to the constitutional council. However, he told the press that in the campaign to collect signatures he had obtained 120,000 valid signatures, out of a total of 350,000 collected.

"In terms of gross subscriptions, we had around 450,000," he revealed.

V. Mondlane's candidacy is supported by the Democratic Alliance Coalition (CAD), which brings together nine parties and around 20 civil society organizations.

"There are a total of 21 parties that actually support my candidacy, but formally nine parties are listed in the CAD statutes," he said.

He said that his association with CAD represents an inter-generational alliance since members of various age groups can see themselves in the coalition. But also, he says, because of CAD's experience in the intricacies of national politics.

A brief pilgrim's road with one and only one justification

Venancio Mondlane began his political career in the Frelimo party. When he felt uncomfortable among his comrades, he took refuge in the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM). The same perception launched him into Renamo. He didn't run for any positions of social importance in Frelimo. In the MDM and Renamo, however, he was head of the list for the municipal elections. He lost in the two races he ran for the parties in Maputo's Independence Square. For the MDM, he was a deputy in the Assembly of the Republic (AR). In Renamo, he was a member of parliament, rapporteur of the AR bench, political advisor and personal advisor to Ossufo Momade, the party president. He wanted to oust Ossufo Momade from the leadership and ended up being excoriated, and recently presented a document leaving the party. Now, in the CAD, he is the presidential candidate.

Every time he left one party for another, until he joined the CAD, he "repeated" the justification: "The organization that best responded to my wishes and what I think are the wishes of the Mozambican population was precisely a coalition".