More on Frelimo registering for municipal elections – AIM report

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More on Frelimo registering for municipal elections – AIM report

7:21 CAT | 20 Jun 2018

Photo: Folha de Maputo

Mozambique’s ruling Frelimo Party on Monday registered with the National Elections Commission (CNE) to take part in the municipal elections scheduled for 10 October.

The Frelimo national election agent, Veronica Macamo (who is also chairperson of the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic), delivered the necessary documents. CNE staff gave the documents a preliminary inspection, and promised to notify Macamo if any irregularity is detected.

Macamo assured journalists “We’ve put together all the documents and it’s all been catalogued”.

ALSO READ: Frelimo pledges to take back municipalities under opposition control, no ‘heads of list’ announced

The documents do not contain the names of any candidates. Macamo said that Frelimo does not appoint its candidates centrally – instead party members elect the candidates in each of the 53 municipalities.

“As you know, inside our party there is no leader who indicates the candidates – they are elected”, she said. “A process of consultation will now begin, in which leaders of opinion will be heard. Then the documents will be gathered and then the candidates will be voted on – both the head of the list (i.e. the candidate for mayor) and the other candidates for members of the municipal assembly”.

She guaranteed that, long before the deadline set by the CNE, Frelimo will announce its mayoral and municipal assembly candidates. She expected Frelimo to win “in most, or almost all, of the municipalities”.

The first party to register with the CNE was the previously unheard-of Mozambican Party of Democratic Justice. On Tuesday morning the rebel movement Renamo, and the Humanitarian Party of Mozambique (PAHUMO), which has one seat on the Nampula municipal assembly, registered.

Parties, coalitions and independent groups of citizens have until 29 June to register. Under the current electoral calendar, the competing parties and groups must submit their lists of candidates between 21 June and 27 July. Each candidate must submit notarised copies of their identify card and voters card, proof of residence, a criminal record certificate, and signed declarations that they agree to stand and are not ineligible.

The only party which has publicly announced the names of some of its candidates is the opposition Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM). All three of the MDM’s current mayors will stand for a further term of office – they are Daviz Simango in Beira, Manuel de Araujo in Quelimane and Orlando Janeiro in Gurue. MDM members in Nampula last week chose former journalist Fernando Bismarque as their mayoral candidate.

Nampula used to be in the MDM’s hands – but mayor Mahamudo Amurane was assassinated in October last. The subsequent by-election was won by the candidate of the rebel movement Renamo, Paulo Vahanle.

The MDM Political Commission began meeting in Beira on Monday to decide on all its candidates, and debate its electoral strategy. It faces a major problem with the refusal by Venancio Mondlane, the rapporteur of the MDM’s parliamentary group, to stand as the MDM’s candidate for mayor of Maputo, although he was proposed twice for this position by the MDM Maputo membership.

There is speculation that Mondlane is about to defect to Renamo and will be Renamo’s mayoral candidate in Maputo. However, if he actually becomes a Renamo member, he will lose his seat in parliament.

Source: AIM