Lots drawn for election broadcasting time

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Lots drawn for election broadcasting time

8:31 CAT | 17 Sep 2018

File photo: O País

Mozambique’s National Elections Commission (CNE) on Monday drew lots for the distribution of broadcasting time among the parties and groups contesting the forthcoming municipal elections, scheduled for 10 October, in Maputo city.

During the official election campaign, the public broadcasters, Radio Mozambique and Mozambican Television (TVM), are obliged to grant broadcasting time, free of charge, to the contesting parties. There is no such obligation on privately owned radio and television stations.

No less than 21 parties, coalitions and groups are standing for the Maputo Municipal Assembly, but many of them are no-hopers, who do not stand a chance of winning any seats.

Such is the case of the oddly named PASOMO (Social Broadening Party of Mozambique), which was drawn in first place, with the right to a five minute broadcast on the radio and a 15 minute broadcast on TVM on the first day of the campaign (25 September).

PASOMO has few members, few votes, no publications and no website. It won 0.23 per cent of the vote in the 2014 parliamentary elections, and in Maputo city that year it won just 297 votes (0.07 per cent). It is doubtful that it will be able to produce a party political broadcast. The Radio and TVM are obliged to transmit the broadcasts, but not to make them. The parties must deliver the recordings, and, judging by past experience, many minor parties will be unable to do so.

The political broadcasts run from 08.00 to 09.00 on the radio and from 19.00 to 22.00 on TVM. So not every party or group will be able to broadcast every day.

The second and third places went to the main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo, and to the long established Maputo civil society organisation, “Juntos pela Cidade” (JPC – Together for the City).

None of the three main parties – the ruling Frelimo Party, Renamo and the MDM (Mozambique Democratic Movement) – were worried about their position on the list for broadcasting time.

For Frelimo, Alcido Nguenha said “we are ready to comply with this distribution of broadcasting time”, while Manuel Zacarias, of Renamo, declared “Renamo is ready. Indeed, it’s always been ready. Whenever there are elections, Renamo is ready for the challenge”.

For the MDM, Jose Manuel de Sousa declared “we are satisfied because the time has been distributed. Now we just have to work to launch our campaign for the elections”.

The election campaign starts on 25 September, and ends on 7 October. In the last two days before the vote, no campaigning is allowed.

Source: AIM