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Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique

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Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique
Partido Otimista pelo Desenvolvimento de Moçambique
AbbreviationPODEMOS
LeaderHélder Mendonça
PresidentAlbino Forquilha[1]
Founded7 May 2019 (2019-05-07)
Registered14 May 2019 (2019-05-14)
Split fromFRELIMO
HeadquartersRua Gulamo Khan 32, Bairro Ferroviário, Maputo
IdeologyDemocratic socialism[2]
Left-wing populism
Machelism[2]
Political positionCentre-left to left-wing
Colours  Yellow
  Red
  Green
Assembly of the Republic
31 / 250
Party flag
Website
podemos.org.mz

The Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique (Portuguese: Partido Otimista pelo Desenvolvimento de Moçambique, PODEMOS) is a Mozambican political party of the democratic socialist ideology founded on 7 May 2019 by a sector of the ruling Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO) dissident from the leadership headed by President Filipe Nyusi.

PODEMOS was founded in 2018 when the electoral court rejected the independent candidacy of Samora Machel Jr., son of Samora Machel, the first president of Mozambique, for mayor of Maputo in the 2018 municipal elections. Many members of the Youth Association for the Development of Mozambique (AJUDEM), an internal political group of FRELIMO that supported Machel, participated in the founding of PODEMOS in May of the following year. Despite this, both Machel and the party have denied any mutual relationship. The party finally obtained legal registration a week after the announcement of its foundation, on 14 May.

During the second half of May and the first half of June, the party began collecting signatures to be able to present candidates in the 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections. Less than a month after its founding, on 11 June 2019, PODEMOS announced Hélder Mendonça, a little-known musician, as its presidential candidate.

In the 2024 Mozambican general election, PODEMOS won 31 seats in the Assembly of the Republic, along with running Venâncio Mondlane as their candidate for that year's presidential election.[3][4]

Election history

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Presidential elections

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Election Party candidate Votes % Result
2024 Venâncio Mondlane 1,412,517 20.32% Lost Red XN

References

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  1. ^ SAPO. "Moçambique. Podemos admite que Venâncio Mondlane se possa tornar líder do partido". SAPO 24 (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  2. ^ a b Redacção (2024-10-30). "Joaquim Veríssimo verga e finalmente autoriza criação do partido PODEMOS". Carta de Moçambique (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  3. ^ "Mozambique's Ruling Party Wins Elections Amid Nationwide Protests | Human Rights Watch". 2024-10-24. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  4. ^ "Mozambique election: Frelimo's Daniel Chapo wins disputed presidential poll". BBC News. 2024-10-24. Retrieved 2024-10-30.
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