Afonso Dhlakama reiterates that he will seize power in the north and center of the country in March.

Afonso Dhlakama the president of Renamo, the main opposition party in Mozambique,reiterated in an interview published today that as of March, his movement will rule through demonstrations in six provinces in the center and
north of the country.

 "We will rule in March and no one in will prevent us. Finished is the game and we will no longer retreat. I swear by the soul of my mother," said Dhlakama, leader of Renamo (Mozambique National Resistance), in a telephone interview with the weekly Mozambique Channel(Canal de Mozambique) stating  that he was speaking from Gorongosa, in Sofala province,center of the country.

 The leader of Renamo had threatened in early December to take power in the provinces where he claims victory in the general elections of 2014, in a
telephone interview, he said from Gorongosa, to social communication organs in Maputo. Questioned by the Mozambique Channel on how his party will form government in the six provinces, Afonso Dhlakama claimed that Renamo will use peaceful means, including demonstrations.

 "Everything will be done peacefully, we need to make that clear, but we want to assure all Mozambicans that we will govern," emphasized Afonso Dhlakama. Dhlakama stressed that the militants and supporters of the main opposition party will defend themselves in case of use of force by the defense and security forces against demonstrations that the movement says it will take to seize power in the provinces concerned.

"I know that Frelimo (Liberation Front of Mozambique, the ruling party)
will send the young FADM (Armed Forces Defense of Mozambique) and the Rapid Intervention Police, we will defend ourselves," added the leader of the main  opposition party. The Renamo leader again rejected a possible meeting with the president, Filipe Nyusi, to resolve the current political crisis, accusing
the head of state and Frelimo of foreclosing all initiatives aimed at finding a way out of the impasse.

 "It will be to negotiate what? They failed and ridiculed everything. Patience has its limits, they violated all agreements," said AfonsomDhlakama, still accusing the ruling party of the wanting to assasinate him.Renamo claims that the solution to the crisis goes through Renamo party rule in the six provinces that Renamo says it won in the general elections of 2014, the results considered of which it considers fraudulent, but saw two legislative proposals aimed at creating autonomous provinces in central and northern Mozambique voted against and rejected in parliament by the Frelimo majority last year. 

A cessation of hostilities agreement signed in September 2014 between the
government and Renamo ended months of fighting in the center of the country, but there are still skirmishes between the defense and security forces and gunmen of the main opposition party.