Mozambique’s main opposition leader, Venancio Mondlane, announced Friday that authorities had approved his new political party after a months-long dispute over the name.Mondlane upended Mozambique’s political landscape last year when he drew thousands of supporters onto the streets to dispute the results of October elections, afterwards becoming the top opposition figure.The new party is called Anamola, an acronym for the National Alliance for an Autonomous and Free Mozambique, Mondlane said in a live video on social media.The party had tried to register as Anamalala, which means “it’s over” in the local Macau language and was one of the slogans of the violently repressed protests, he said.However, authorities claimed it promoted separatism as it was from a single language. “During this time, we were waiting for the Constitutional Council to review the case. Yesterday we suddenly received the order approving our party, which is Anamola,” he said.”Anamalala emerged at an extremely interesting moment in… Mozambique’s political life, and we will keep Anamalala as our slogan,” Mondlane said.The opposition leader, who is popular with the youth, said his party would advocate for a fully independent judiciary, free public schooling and healthcare, and for lowering the age of majority from the current 21 years old to 18.Mondlane posed the first real challenge to the ruling Frelimo party in half a century in the October poll, which international observer missions said was tainted by irregularities.Almost 400 people were killed in a police crackdown of two months of protests and blockades, according to local civil society groups.Mondlane has claimed persecution by President Daniel Chapo’s government and announced last month he had been charged with five offences, including inciting and instigating “terrorism”.”Now we have a tool to continue fighting… for the liberation of our people,” he said in the live video.
