For the first time since the disputed October presidential election, Mozambican President Daniel Chapo and his primary rival, Venâncio Mondlane, sat down face-to-face on Sunday, reports local news outlet AIM.
The two men met at Maputo’s Joaquim Chissano International Conference Centre as part of what a statement from Chapo’s office called “the continual effort to promote national stability and strengthen the commitment to reconciliation and unity among Mozambicans.” Dialogue between the different parties and social groups, the statement said “is a determinant step in restoring trust” in the wake of widespread protests following the disputed vote.
The Constitutional Council, Mozambique’s highest authority on electoral law, officially declared Chapo the winner in December, with 65 percent of the vote compared to about 25 percent for Mondlane, who dismissed the results as fraudulent.
None of the claims made by either man could be substantiated, however, as neither published polling results and the Constitutional Council refused to order a recount, reigniting protests that have killed more than 300 people.
[See more: Violence surges in Mozambique as ruling party refuses to budge on election result]
Mondlane, whose strong base of young supporters led the protests, said in a statement that the meeting was aimed at beginning “a mutual process of responding to the appeals and longings of the Mozambican people.”
Neither man said what had been discussed in the meeting, but the day after meeting Mondlane took to Facebook to describe it as “the first of many debates, with the aim of promoting peace and reconciliation.” He called on everyone to end the “violence, destruction, harassment and roadblocks.”
Mondlane said he and Chapo had reached a consensus on the need for an end to violence “on both sides”, as well support for families who’ve lost loved ones in the months-long protests. This support, he said, will include free medical care for people injured by the police or by anti-government protestors.
Mondlane claimed that Chapo had agreed on full pardons for everyone arrested during the protests “with no exceptions.” The president, he said, had commented on detainees being “good people” and that it is “necessary to release them” to avoid damaging Mozambique’s image, which admittedly has suffered as a result of the brutal crackdown.
