Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)
18 June 2009
Maputo — Mozambican President Armando Guebuza, the candidate of the ruling Frelimo Party, on Thursday became the first person to present his nomination papers for the presidential election scheduled for 28 October.
Guebuza presented his papers to Luis Mondlane, chairperson of the Constitutional Council, the highest body on matters of constitutional law. Among the tasks of the Council are to check that all candidates for the presidency meet the legal requirements.
Among the documents delivered by Guebuza were his letter accepting nomination, the Frelimo logotype, a copy of his birth certificate, his criminal record certificate, and a deposit of 100,000 meticais (about 3,750 US dollars).
All Presidential candidates must also present at least 10,000 signatures from supporters, all recognised by a public notary. The Frelimo election agent, Veronica Macamo, told reporters that 296,260 people had provided such signatures in support of Guebuza. However, the Constitutional Council will only accept a maximum of 20,000 signatures, and so that was the number that Guebuza submitted.
The remaining signatures are deposited at the Frelimo Central Committee headquarters. Macamo said this was the largest number of signatures ever collected for a Frelimo election campaign, and was a sign of the popular trust enjoyed by the party and its candidates.
Meanwhile, Frelimo is preparing to draw up its list of candidates for the parliamentary elections. Macamo said these nomination papers will be delivered to the National Elections Commission (CNE) in July.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
