US embassy cable - 04MAPUTO1507

UNCLAS MAPUTO 001507 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
STATE FOR AF/S TREGER 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, MZ, Elections 04, FRELIMO, RENAMO 
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE - NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AMENDS THE 1990 
CONSTITUTION 
 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified - Not for Internet Distribution 
 
1. (U) On November 16, by a rare unanimous vote, RENAMO 
deputies joined their FRELIMO counterparts in approving a 
long list of amendments to the 1990 constitution. The 
majority of the changes were clarifications of existing 
principles and statutes. The significant amendments are as 
follows. 
-- Term of Office: A sitting president will be able to serve 
a second consecutive term, but will not (unlike under the 
1990 Constitution) be able to serve a third consecutive term. 
However, an individual will be able to serve a third term if 
the third term is separated in time from the second term by 
at least one term in office by someone else. (Note: The 
amendment does not address the issue of serving four or more 
terms. End note.) 
-- Constitutional Council: The Constitutional Council, set 
up in 2003 to verify whether laws and decrees are in keeping 
with the Constitution and to validate election results, will 
have new powers. Its opinions will no longer be merely 
recommendations but decisions of law without appeal. In 
addition, its mandate will include investigating the legality 
of new political parties. 
-- Council of State: In time of war or a national emergency, 
the president will be able to solicit advice from what will 
be a new advisory body known as the Council of State, made up 
of the prime minister, any former presidents of the Republic 
or the Assembly, the runner-up in the most recent 
presidential election, and 11 "personalities of recognized 
merit" - four chosen by the president and seven by the 
Assembly. The president can choose to ignore the advice 
given, however. 
-- Ombudsman: The Ombudsman (a new governmental position) 
will have the responsibility of investigating abuses by state 
officials. This individual will be elected by a 2/3 majority 
of members of the National Assembly. 
-- Provincial Assemblies: Provincial assemblies are to come 
into existence by 2008. FRELIMO was against having them, 
arguing that the country could not afford the cost of these 
bodies, but RENAMO insisted on their creation. The president 
currently appoints the governors of the provinces. 
Provincial assemblies therefore would presumably give greater 
power and a degree of autonomy to provincial governments. 
Details on the assemblies, including how they will be 
financed, have been left to future legislation. 
-- Dual Nationality: Previously one had to renounce one's 
former nationality to acquire Mozambican citizenship through 
residence. Now this will no longer necessary -- one will be 
able to be a dual national under Mozambican law. 
 
2. (SBU) Comment: The amendments only come into force upon 
the validation of the results of the upcoming December 1-2 
general elections. Conveniently for FRELIMO, this means that 
the Constitutional Council's view of the election will not 
yet have any legal effect on the outcome. The inclusion of 
the runner-up in the presidential election in the Council of 
State is a clear sop to Dhlakama, in case RENAMO loses. 
There was little suspense during the Assembly session; both 
parties had worked out a consensus beforehand in committee 
meetings. Since modifying the Constitution requires a 2/3's 
majority in the Assembly, and FRELIMO holds 133 seats against 
RENAMO's 117, securing support on both sides of the aisle 
meant that the changes were essentially quite modest. The 
most ambitious and therefore contentious modification appears 
to have been the creation of provincial parliaments. No 
wonder, then, that details on them remain to be worked out 
later. 
LA LIME