The 210 members of the Assembly of the Republic (AR), elected for the tenth legislature, were sworn in on Monday 13 January. However, two parties, Renamo and the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), which together account for 36 deputies, boycotted the ceremony, as they had previously announced.
The session was led by the Mozambican President, Filipe Nyusi, who arrived at the RA at around 9.55am. During the ceremony, around 210 MPs attended the investiture and were sworn in, pledging to defend the interests of the people in Parliament.
‘The figures show that 210 elected MPs are in this room, 171 from the Frelimo parliamentary group and 39 from Podemos. Thus, the regimental conditions for the investiture of the deputies to the Assembly of the Republic have been met,’ declared President Nyusi, after the AR secretariat had counted the presence of the parliamentarians.
Validation of the election results and swearing in of the new parliamentarians
On the occasion, it was up to the president of the Constitutional Council (CC), Lúcia Ribeiro, to read the extract from the ruling validating the results of the elections held on 9 October 2024. During the reading, she mentioned the names of the elected deputies and the constituencies they represent.
The oldest member of the ‘People’s House’, Eneas Comiche, took the oath on behalf of those sworn in. He read and signed the pledge, promising to ‘serve the country and the state faithfully, and to devote all my energies to the cause of the people.’
Election of the President of the HR
On the agenda of the solemn session is the election of the new president of the Assembly of the Republic for the tenth legislature, a post currently held by Esperança Bias. The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) has nominated former minister Margarida Talapa as its candidate. In addition to Talapa, the candidacies of Carlos Tembe and Fernando Jone, both from Podemos, the party making its debut in parliament and becoming the largest opposition force, with 43 deputies, were presented.
Despite the request by Venâncio Mondlane, the candidate backed by the Optimistic People for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos) party, to boycott the ceremony, the party’s leadership had previously declared that its MPs would be sworn in. Mondlane, who contested the Presidency of the Republic, called for peaceful demonstrations and the paralysing of activities in protest at the election results.
Protests and electoral protests
Venâncio Mondlane returned to the country on Thursday 9 January after two and a half months abroad, citing concerns for his safety. The presidential candidate still doesn’t recognise the results of the 9 October general elections, which gave victory to Frelimo and its presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo.
Mondlane has called for peaceful demonstrations from 13 to 15 January, during the inauguration of MPs and the new President of the Republic, scheduled for next Wednesday. ‘The time has come to demonstrate that the people are in charge. Peaceful demonstrations, from 8am to 5pm, against the traitors of the people on Monday and against the thieves on Wednesday,’ he said.
According to the results proclaimed by the Constitutional Council on 23 December 2024, Frelimo elected its presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo, maintained its parliamentary majority with 171 deputies (compared to 184 previously) and won all the provincial governorships.
