Frelimo reiterates no third term for Guebuza

The secretary-general of the ruling Frelimo Party, Filipe Paunde, has said that nobody should doubt the assurances given by President Armando Guebuza that he will not run for a third term in 2014. This was the reaction of Paunde following statements by party leaders that Frelimo is seeking to introduce new amendments to the Constitution, and that a public debate will soon be launched. Speculation spread that the ruling party is seeking to amend Article 147, paragraph four, of Mozambique's Constitution to accommodate a third term for Armando Guebuza.

"President Guebuza has said on several occasions that he will not run for a third term. Do you doubt the words of the leader of a party as mature and organised as Frelimo?" asked Paunde during an interview to the paper "O Pais". Paunde added that "a president of twenty-one odd million Mozambicans would never publicly say that he will not run again and fail to keep his word. I believe in my President, and I know he will keep his word". Paunde refused to disclose which amendments Frelimo is seeking on the Constitution, arguing that this issue falls under the jurisdiction of the Frelimo parliamentarian group. (AIM)