This week (on 16 January) the public tender was launched for selecting the members of the Elections Commissions of the country's 12 new municipalities. The closing date for the tender is next Monday (23 January).

Civil Society has less than a week to submit nomination papers for candidates to those support bodies in the 12 districts (see the tender appendix). The tender deadlines are very tight, and could limit the number of candidates from independent civil society organisations. This would facilitate the nomination of candidates and selection of socio-professional bodies such as the ONP and others, which are controlled by the Frelimo Party.

The law states that candidates for membership of the Elections Commissions should be figures of probity, so that they can perform their technical and professional duties with impartiality, independence, objectivity, competence, zeal, honesty, loyalty, neutrality, and dignity.

Although the new municipalities are not districts, the National Elections Commission is setting up District Elections Commissions. The District Elections Commissions each consist of 15 members, of whom nine come from civil society, and the other six from the political parties represented in parliament, namely Frelimo, Renamo and the MDM.

The new district commissions cover the following municipalities: Ibo town, Balama (Cabo Delgado), Insaca town, Mecanhelas district (Niassa), Mossuril (Nampula), Morrumbala (Zambézia), Chitima (Tete), Guro (Manica), Caia (Sofala), Homoine (Inhambane), Massingir (Gaza), Marracuene and Matola-Rio (Maputo province).