Mozambique President Meets With Opposition Leader Ahead of Vote

(Bloomberg) -- Mozambique’s president, Filipe Nyusi, met with the leader of the main opposition party, Afonso Dhlakama, in the Gorongosa forest where Dhlakama has been in hiding.

“The two leaders discussed and agreed on the next steps in the peace process, which they hope to be completed by the end of the year,” according to a press statement by the presidency.

Dhlakama has been sheltering in the forest since October 2015 after he was allegedly attacked by government troops. His Renamo party’s military wing has been fighting since 2013 in the central region, affecting the nation’s coal industry. The opposition announced a truce last year to allow negotiations for definitive peace.

Mozambique will hold municipal elections in October 2017 and a national vote a year later.

To contact the reporter on this story: Borges Nhamire in Maputo at bnhamire@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Helen Nyambura-Mwaura, Eric Ombok