The Council of State, a consultative body that advises the President of the Republic, has proposed 9 October 2024 as the date for the next general elections.
On 4 August, President Filipe Nyusi chaired a meeting of the Council of State, which is legally obliged to issue an opinion on the date for general elections.
According to a press release from President Nyusi's office, the date was proposed by the National Elections Commission (CNE), and accepted by the Council. Thus, the presidential and parliamentary elections and the elections for the ten provincial assemblies will take place simultaneously on 9 October 2014.
The Council of State could not give an opinion until the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, had decided whether elections for district assemblies would also be held on the same date. But on 3 August parliament passed a constitutional amendment, proposed by the parliamentary group of the ruling Frelimo Party, which eliminated the constitutional requirement to hold district elections in 2024. Instead, the constitution now states that the first district elections will be held when the necessary legal, material and financial conditions have been met.
Meanwhile, an independent citizens' group in the northern province of Cabo Delgado has become the first organisation to submit nomination papers of its candidates for the municipal elections scheduled for 11 October. This group is the Association of Natives and Sympathisers of Mocimboa da Praia (UMODJA) which, as its name suggests, is standing candidates only in the municipality of Mocimboa da Praia. UMODJA submitted its nomination papers to the CNE on 3 August, thus becoming the first of the 26 parties, coalitions and citizens' groups registered for the elections to submit its list of candidates.
The submission of nomination papers began on 20 July and the deadline is 11 August. The CNE has urged all those contesting the election to submit their papers in good time. For the nomination papers of each and every candidate must be scrutinised to ensure that they comply with the electoral legislation. With 65 municipalities, and 26 competing parties and groups, the CNE may have to inspect the papers of thousands of would-be candidates. The CNE fears that, based on previous experiences, many of the parties will wait until the last moment before submitting their papers.
