CNE rechecking papers of AJUDEM candidates

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CNE rechecking papers of AJUDEM candidates

11:09 CAT | 20 Aug 2018

File photo / O País

Mozambique’s National Elections Commission (CNE) is investigating the cases of four people who are on the list of candidates for the 10 October municipal elections, submitted by AJUDEM (Youth Association for the Development of Mozambique), but who now say they want their names removed.

AJUDEM was set up by several civil society organisations in Maputo. It is only standing in Maputo city, and the head of its list (and therefore candidate for mayor) is Samora Machel Junior (“Samito”), son of the country’s first President.

The withdrawal request is odd because among the documents that all candidates must submit is a signed declaration that they are willing to stand for election. These declarations should have been verified by the CNE before accepting the AJUDEM list.

CNE spokesperson Paulo Cuinica told AIM on Sunday that one of the four claims he never signed a declaration. But in any case, “people have a right to drop out”, Cuinica added – and the four were still within the deadline for removing their names.

“We shall recheck the matter”, Cuinica said. He expected the CNE to take a decision later on Sunday. The CNE has until next Wednesday to announce the definitive list of candidates for all 53 municipalities.

Meanwhile the AJUDEM spokesperson, Artemisa Magaia, has denounced alleged intimidation of AJUDEM members by the ruling Frelimo Party.

ALSO READ: AJUDEM denounces alleged Frelimo intimidation

Cited in the online version of the independent daily “O Pais”, Magaia said she had been summoned to a meeting with the Frelimo Maputo City first secretary, Francisco Mabjaia.

“I was called by the comrade first secretary of the KaMabukwane urban district telling me that I have been requested to meet the Maputo City first secretary on Monday. I am on the list of those who are going to be interrogated because they support the candidature of comrade Samora Machel Junior”, said Magaia. (Her repeated use of the word “comrade” suggests that she is a member of Frelimo).

Magaia said AJUDEM members are tranquil and confident, because they have a clear conscience, and she called for calm.

“We were not coerced into standing as candidates”, she continued. “We did so freely, because we know that he (Samora Machel Junior) was elected by the grass roots. If anyone is trying to intimidate us, we are asking comrade first secretary Francisco Mabjaia to stop it”.

“We also want to know how he obtained the list of candidates, because, as far as we know, the list is still with the CNE and hasn’t been published. So how did he get access to it”, she asked. (In fact, the list was leaked to Facebook several days ago).

The selection of the Frelimo candidate was highly controversial, particularly because of the exclusion of Machel’s name from the short list of three sent by the City Committee to the party leadership. Machel’s supporters are convinced that he was the real choice of most party members in the city.

The candidate eventually chosen was 79 year old former finance minister, Eneas Comiche, who was mayor once before, from 2004 to 2009.

Amongst Comiche’s other opponents is Venancio Mondlane, who ran for mayor on the ticket of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) n 2013, and slashed the Frelimo majority from 85 to 58 per cent. But Mondlane has now defected from the MDM, and is head of the list proposed by the rebel movement Renamo. This might prove a costly mistake, since many of those who voted for the MDM in 2013 did so precisely because it was an alternative to both Frelimo and Renamo.

The MDM list is headed by Augusto Mbazo, who is currently the chairperson of the Maputo municipal assembly.

Source: AIM