The Political Commission of Mozambique’s Frelimo ruling party met on Thursday and contrary to expectations, it did not divulge its much-awaited short-list of candidates who will put their names up for nomination for the prize of party presidential nominee for the October 2024 general elections.
Meeting in its first session seen December 2023, the Political Commission discussed others matters unrelated to the succession battle within Frelimo.
Ludmila Maguni, the body’s spokesperson, told the media that the Political Commission had not discussed the issue of succession and neither had it discussed any shortlist.
Comment
Frelimo insiders say that they were blindsided as they had expected the succession issue to be discussed on Thursday. The only explanation they found was that President Filipe Nyusi and his close-knit group might wish to delay making public the shortlist until the eve of the Central Committee meeting in March 2024.
This would deprive presidential hopefuls of time to campaign, while Nyusi’s man or woman worked the delegates to the meeting behind the scenes to ensure victory.
Were it to be true, it is not clear whether such a tactic is going to work. Although Frelimo would like to be seen as a democratic party, the most crucial decisions to the life of the party are usually taken by a small group of specific families who played a great role during the liberation struggle.
People being people usually have rifts for the duration of two terms. But when push comes to shove, they set aside their differences in order to reach a desirable consensus. It has happened before that the larger membership thought the party would go one way only for the families to intervene in the last minute to assert their authority over the majority.
What is clear though is that this delay does not bode well for the way the succession process is being handled.
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