Maputo — Mozambique's National Elections Commission (CNE) announced on Wednesday that political parties, coalitions of parties, and independent citizens' groups who wish to stand candidates in the municipal elections scheduled for October, must register with the CNE between next Monday (26 June) and 14 July.

Parties and coalitions are registered centrally by the CNE in Maputo, while citizens' groups should register with the Provincial Elections Commissions.

Among the documentation that each competing party must submit are copies of its Statutes and symbol, the certificate proving that it is duly registered, a list of members of the party leadership, and the identification of the party's election agent.

The election agent must present a certified copy of his identity card, his criminal record certificate, and the party decision that appointed him the agent.

Once it has received these documents, the CNE must, within 24 hours, analyse the legality of the party name and symbol, checking whether the name is similar to that of other parties. If the CNE rejects any name or symbol, the party concerned may appeal to the Constitutional Council, the country's highest body in matters of constitutional or electoral law.

The chairperson of the CNE, Bishop Carlos Matsinhe, urged parties and citizens' groups to register their intention of participating in the elections as soon as possible.

Speaking at a Maputo meeting on Wednesday with representatives of the political parties, he said that an advantage of registering early was to avoid last minute upsets (which might arise from the need to change any of the documents).

"Once again, I urge registration to be done in good time, and not at the last moment', he said. "You should make an effort to be speedy in your registration, within the deadlines laid down by the electoral law'.

The meeting was intended to give the parties an opportunity to seek clarification about the procedures they must obey in order to take part in the October elections.