SEYCHELLES'S Annabelle Marvel Pointe is the sixth candidate to secure a slot for the Miss East Africa finals planned for Dar es Salaam at the end of next month.

Coordinator of the event, Rena Callist said that Pointe, a model as well as a specialist in Customer Service in bars and restaurant won the chance after beating the rests in the finals held on Seychelles on Monday. Pointe who is 5'8 tall joins other finalists from Southern Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Burundi and Uganda who have already qualified for the grand finale.

Callist named other finalists as Akuot Philip Suzan (Southern Sudan), Rahwa Afeworki (Eritrea), Lula Teklehaimanot (Ethiopia), Mugisha Nadege (Burundi) and Ayisha Nagudi (Uganda). Callist said more than 3,120 contestants have registered to compete in the preliminaries of Miss East Africa beauty contest.

"The preliminary screening of the aspirants is going on in 16 countries to get the candidates who will represent their respective country in the finals," said Callist. He named the countries listed for the beauty contest as host Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, Malawi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Reunion, Madagascar, Comoro, Mauritius and Seychelles.

Callist said they have changed a staging format to get top quality candidates this year, ultimate goal being to make it one of the best events within the region. Unlike last year, he said, this year each country will be represented by one candidate from the previous two during the finals in September.

Moreover, the finals will be televised live to give room for many fans to watch the event, which is expected to be a crowd puller.