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The Administrative Tribunal (TA) rejected the final attempt to block the naming of Loló Correia as STAE director general. The ruling came late Friday afternoon (14 Oct), after the CNE had already sworn in Correia earlier in the day.
The ruling and swearing in ceremony brings to an end a five-week soap opera. The post is critical because STAE (Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration) runs the elections and the director-general (DG) has huge power. The was an open competition for internal candidates and a selection panel of members of the CNE (National Elections Commission) chose Correia, who was then head of STAE in Tete province.
Insiders claimed that Frelimo did not want Correia, and instead wanted someone who would be more malleable, and pressured Frelimo members on the CNE to reject the panel choice. But democracy and independence prevailed, and at least two members seen as Frelimo-aligned repeatedly backed the selection panel choice.
First there were battles within the CNE to try to stop the appointment, but these failed. Then Jose Grachane, one of the candidates considered less qualified by the selection panel, challenged the format of the selection, which considered only documents and had no interview. His first appeal was to the CNE on 19 September (https://bit.ly/3rPb9He), which delayed the appointment of Correia. On 29 September Grachane received the CNE rejection of his appeal (https://bit.ly/3S0Vgbn). The next day he appealed to the TA and on 3 October the TA issued an order suspending the swearing-in of Loló Correia. (https://bit.ly/3VwXXVg) But this was not delivered to the CNE until late on Friday 7 October. The CNE earlier in the day had set 12 October for the swearing in, which was later postponed to Friday 14 October.
The TA rejected Grachane’s application out of hand, because he had made a very basic mistake. (https://bit.ly/3eFT3EB) The law says that an appeal of this type must give the name and address of the person who would be harmed if the appeal was accepted. In this case, that is Loló Correia. But Grachane failed to name Correia, so the appeal was rejected without being considered.
This ruling is the final episode of the soap opera of the selection of the new director-general of STAE. Loló Correia replaces Felisberto Naife, who had held the position for 15 years. Naife had replaced António Carrasco, who was the first director-general of STAE.
Members of CNE and STAE, at central level, will undergo initial training tomorrow and Tuesday (17-18 Oct) in preparation for the 2023/2024 electoral cycle. Training for members of the provincial and district elections commissions and STAEs will take place from 24 October to 12 November.
By CIP and Joseph Hanlon
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