First meeting of the new Council of State cancelled

The first meeting of the Mozambican Council of State of this term, scheduled for Tuesday, was cancelled, with no new date set, according to an official letter released this Monday by politician Venâncio Mondlane, who will be one of the councillors.

According to the letter published by Mondlane on his official Facebook account, the Council of State meeting “has been cancelled” for “agenda reasons” and will be held on a “date to be announced”.

Mozambican President Daniel Chapo has scheduled the first meeting of the Council of State of the current term for June 24, according to a notice also previously released by former presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who was also summoned, but who did not confirm whether he would participate.

According to the initial call, the meeting's agenda included information on the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Mozambique's independence, on June 25, on the functioning of the Council of State and the presentation of its members.

Mondlane, who does not recognize the results of the general elections of October 9, was the second most voted presidential candidate, and therefore, as provided for in the Constitution, he has a seat on the Council of State.

The politician said on Thursday that his seat “is not a debatable issue” and “ does not depend on anyone ”, adding that he is considering whether he will take it: “It is not a free lunch, therefore, it is not generosity, it is because the Constitution of the Republic gives me that right”.

The Mozambican Constitution defines the Council of State as a “political body for consultation with the President”, who presides over it, and which inherently includes the President of the Assembly of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the President of the Constitutional Council, the Ombudsman, former Presidents of the Republic and former Presidents of Parliament.

“Members of the Council of State enjoy privileges, immunities and protocol treatment to be established by law”, the Constitution also establishes.

The Council of State is responsible for “advising the President (…) whenever he so requests”, but also for “ obligatory pronouncement ” on the dissolution of the Assembly of the Republic, declaration of war, state of siege or state of emergency, holding a referendum, calling general elections and dismissal of provincial governors and district administrators.

According to article 163 of the Constitution, the Council of State must be made up of “seven individuals of recognized merit elected by the Assembly of the Republic for the period of the legislature, in accordance with parliamentary representation”, as well as “four individuals of recognized merit appointed by the President of the Republic, for the period of his mandate ” and “the second most voted candidate for the position of President”.

On June 16, the Mozambican President appointed Alberto Chipande, Graça Machel, Eduardo Nihia and Felizarda Paulino, all historical members of the ruling party (Frelimo), to the Council of State.

At the end of May, the leaders of the three Mozambican opposition parties with seats in parliament, Albino Forquilha (Podemos), Ossufo Momade (Renamo) and Lutero Simango (MDM) were elected by parliament, along with four other citizens, to join the Council of State in the 2025 to 2029 legislature.

Mondlane led the worst challenge to the election results since the first multi-party elections (1994), with protests in which around 400 people lost their lives due to clashes with the police, which also resulted in looting and destruction of businesses and public infrastructure.

On March 5, Mozambican parties signed a political commitment with the President of Mozambique, aiming at state reforms, which was later transformed into law by parliament.

On March 23, Mondlane and Chapo met for the first time and pledged to end the post-election violence, meeting again on May 21 with an agenda to pacify the country.