Mozambique: Tight Calendar in the Tender for Selection of Members of the 12 New Elections Commissions

(File photo).

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).

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.