Opposition leaders should abide by the rule of law

failed to achieve greater inclusion of his former fighters into the Mozambican national army and that he wants a revision of the country’s electoral laws.
He said he also wanted power to veto the election results after accusing the ruling Frelimo of electoral fraud in previous polls. But why did Dhlakama and his 800-strong group of former rebels decide to take this action, having been a part of the government by virtue of having significant representation in parliament for over 20 years?
Renamo has 29 out of 250 parliamentary seats, down from 59 and even its position as official opposition looks doubtful as Mozambique heads for municipal polls next year and presidential and parliamentary elections in 2014.
However, if one decides to take part in democratic processes, he/she has to abide by the results of such processes.
When he joined government in 1992 after a devastating 16 years of civil war, the world and in particular the region thought there was going to be lasting peace in Mozambique.
The civil war in Mozambique backed by apartheid South Africa affected many countries in the region, but the most affected was Zimbabwe.
On the economic front, there were acts of banditry and sabotage to the Beira Corridor, an economic lifeline for Zimbabwe where the country received fuel and other essential raw materials for the booming industry.
The world, mainly the region, should send a strong message to the Renamo leader and like-minded opposition leaders that politicians should not use ordinary people as pawns whenever they fail to achieve their selfish political ambitions.
The region has made it clear that it will not tolerate politicians who seek office through unconstitutional means and we expect strong measures to be taken against the former rebel leader if he does not pursue peaceful means to end the impasse.
The continent cannot afford another blood bath in Mozambique. It has seen enough in the DRC and Madagascar among other trouble spots.
It defies logic that Dhlakama thinks going back into the bush and harassing innocent villagers will solve his political problems.
Fortunately, economic developments in Mozambique will not help sway the people’s support in Dhlakama’s favour. Mozambique is poised to benefit from large capital inflows from the discovery of natural gas and coal discoveries. Mozambique’s economy is already growing at more than 7,5 percent, one of the fastest in the world and the country is set to start cashing in on a mineral resource rush in the next five to 10 years.
Dhlakama was enjoying the comfort of being in government and only to wake up after realising political space was being snatched by other opposing parties.
We therefore call upon Dhlakama and like minded opposition party leaders in Africa to respect the constitutions of their countries and abide by them. If they feel the incumbent presidents are failing the people, they should wait for the next election date and not use violence to get into office.
They should use the power of the ballot to get into office.