Mozambique’s elections commission approves lists of candidates

Mozambique's National Elections Commission (CNE) has approved the vast majority of candidates whose nominations for the 20 November municipal elections were submitted by political parties and by independent citizens' groups.

CNE spokesperson Joao Beirao stated that the verification of the paperwork for the thousands of candidates, standing for mayor and for members of the municipal assemblies, was completed on Monday, and on Tuesday the CNE drew up a list of all the valid candidates for the 53 municipalities.

The CNE confirmed that the only parties standing in all 53 municipalities are the ruling Frelimo Party and the opposition Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM). The fact that the largest opposition party, Renamo, is boycotting the elections gives the MDM the chance to scoop up all the opposition votes.

Original article: http://allafrica.com/stories/201309300699.html