The Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), the country’s third largest political party, has called on its former Secretary General, Ismael Mussa, to step down from the post of deputy head of the party’s parliamentary group due to a “loss of confidence”.The call came in a resolution passed on Tuesday by the party’s National Council which met in the northern city of Pemba, Cabo Delgado province. However, the resolution specifically stated that it was not calling for him to stand down as a deputy in the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic.MDM has eight seats in parliament, whilst Renamo holds 50 seats and the ruling party Frelimo has 192 deputies.MDM spokesperson Jose de Sousa told the daily newspaper “Noticias” that the decision was taken because Ismael Mussa had chosen in April to resign from the post of Secretary General of the party.“The National Council believes that the positions of head and deputy head of the parliamentary benches should be held by people who do not have reservations about the guiding principles of the party. That is, the posts should not be held by members who have doubts about what we want. Therefore, it is time for Ismael Mussa to understand that he should not be holding such a sensitive position” said Jose de Sousa.The National Council did not question the contribution of Ismael Mussa as an MDM deputy, nor his MDM membership, and accepted his right to express his opinions within the party. However, it criticised Ismael Mussa, Joao Colaco and Dionisio Quelhas for not attending the meeting and presenting their concerns about the state of the party.At the meeting’s closing session MDM president Daviz Simango said that “we leave the historic province of Cabo Delgado with clear ideas about our political motives and the challenges that the party faces on the road to a Mozambique for all”.He added that “our success as a political party will not depend on appropriating the state administration and the public purse. Our main wealth resides in hope, based on socially relevant ethical values and the desire for real change”.The National Council of the MDM met over four days to discuss the crisis that has developed in the party and to outline its future strategy. On Monday it appointed Luis Boavida to the post of Secretary General.