Speaking this Sunday at the inauguration ceremony of the President of the Comoros, Azali Assoumani, João Lourenço stressed that "the only sustainable and legitimate way to gain power in Africa is through free, fair and transparent elections", which allow "to celebrate the of democracy."
"Leaders emerging from elections can count on a broad and consistent popular base, which allows them to govern with legitimacy in a climate of greater serenity and stability", reinforced the head of state at the stadium where Azali Assoumani was sworn in for his fourth term, third consecutively. , to which he was reappointed in the elections held in January.
João Lourenço said that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region continues "to be a good example in terms of regularly holding free and transparent elections, the results of which do not generate, in rule, violent contestation" that threatens the order and stability of countries.
The President recalled that general elections are being held this year in Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique and South Africa, where he said he hopes, "once again, that the results will be respected by all competing parties".
He also expressed concern about the situation of instability and war in some of the SADC member states, namely in Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRCongo), to which he declared support and solidarity.
DRCongo recently suffered an attempted coup d'état, while Mozambique has been confronted for some years with an insurgency in Cabo Delgado, in the north of the country.
Lourenço also expressed concern about the armed conflict in Sudan, which has caused a large number of victims and generated a large number of refugees, "destabilizing neighboring countries", and called for this war not to be forgotten.
"We understand that international humanitarian agencies prioritize assistance to other ongoing conflicts, namely in Palestine, to respond above all to the situation of serious humanitarian catastrophe in which the civilian populations of the Gaza Strip find themselves, but the Sudanese people deserve equal attention and the Sudan's war cannot be a forgotten war and simply ignored by the international community", appealed the head of state.
João Lourenço praised Azali Assoumani for his role as Acting President of the African Union in the year 2023, for his realistic and pragmatic approach to “the main problems facing Africa”.
"This is a legacy that makes us proud and that will serve as a guide and guidance to define strategies that allow us to accelerate the processes of promoting dialogue aimed at putting an end to conflicts on our continent and, thus, opening the way to economic and of our countries", he declared.
