7 July 2009
Maputo — Two senior figures in the ruling Frelimo Party in the northern province of Cabo Delgado at the last moment withdrew their nominations to become Frelimo candidates for the parliamentary elections scheduled for 28 October.
According to a report in Tuesday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias", at the session of the Frelimo Cabo Delgado Provincial Committee, which selected the candidates at the weekend, both the provincial governor, Eliseu Machava, and the Frelimo provincial first secretary, Virgilio Mateus, declined to stand for election.
Perhaps they wished to avoid the fate of Deputy Agriculture Minister Caterina Pajume. She did stand - but only received three votes from the 84 members of the provincial committee.
Only 23 people voted for Feliciano Mata, who is currently the spokesperson for the Frelimo parliamentary group. This was only enough for Mata to be elected as the sixth supplementary candidate. The supplementary candidates only stand a chance to enter the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, if full candidates die or resign.
The spokesperson for the Assembly's governing board, its Standing Commission, Mateus Katupha, was in 15th position out of a list of 21 full candidates. Since Cabo Delgado is a Frelimo stronghold, where the opposition only managed to elect four deputies at the last elections, in 2004, Katupha's position looks high enough to ensure that he retains his seat.
The Cabo Delgado poll was topped by Severina Banze, who was only a supplementary candidate in 2004.
In Nampula province, Alfredo Gamito, a former provincial governor, who is currently head of the Assembly's working commission on agriculture, came top of the list. Also in positions that guarantee their election to the Assembly are Labour Minister Helena Taipo, the Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources, Abdul Razak (who is also a former Nampula governor), and former deputy defence minister Eduardo da Silva Nihia.
In the southern province of Gaza, the party's Secretary for Mobilisation and Propaganda, Edson Macuacua, topped the list, and a current member of the Standing Commission, Fernando Braz Muchanga, was relegated to the position of a supplementary candidate.
Only the Sofala provincial committee of Frelimo has not yet selected parliamentary candidates. The Sofala meeting is expected to take place during the coming weekend.
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