Mozambique Opposition Parties Lose Election Bid

Mozambique Prime Minister Luisa Dias Diogo. The southern African nation will open a bridge that has been in the works for the last three decades.
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MOZ POLITICAL PARTIES LOSE ELECTION BID

The Mozambican Constitutional Council has dismissed claims by 14
political parties that they were unfairly excluded from the
upcoming elections, a report said on Tuesday.

The state controlled daily Noticias said the parties had claimed
they were unfairly excluded from the October 28 elections by the
national election commission (CNE).

The parties had sought the intervention of the Constitutional
Council after the CNE had said candidates for the presidential,
legislative and provincial parliament had submitted incomplete
nomination papers.

The exclusion of the 14 parties generated much controversy as
local political commentators and western diplomats accredited to
Mozambique alleged the move was unconstitutional.

However, CNE president Leopoldo da Costa insisted he was
following the electoral laws and could not bend laws to accommodate parties which had submitted incomplete nomination papers.

Mozambique will hold presidential, national and provincial
parliamentary elections on October 28.

Current president Armando Emilio Guebuza will stand as the
presidential candidate on the ruling Frelimo ticket against Daviz
Simango from the Mozambique Democratic Movement and Afonso Dhlakama from the main opposition party Renamo.


MOZAMBIQUE POLITICAL PARTIES' COMPLAINTS REJECTED

Mozambique's constitutional council has dismissed complaints
from 14 parties that they were unfairly excluded from running in
all electoral districts in next month's vote.

The rejection upheld a Mozambican elections commission decision
of two weeks ago that 14 political parties could not run in all
electoral districts for the October 28 vote on grounds of
incomplete documents.

Only ruling party Frelimo and long-time opposition movement
Renamo were approved by the commission to stand for parliament in all 13 electoral districts.

The Renamo breakaway group Democratic Movement of Mozambique led by Daviz Simango, mayor of Beira city, was among those excluded.

"In a unanimous decision, the constitutional council rejected
the appeal of MDM against the exclusion of the lists from most
provinces," the Mozambique Political Process Bulletin said Tuesday.

The O'Pais daily newspaper reported earlier, citing a statement
from the council said "the parties claims had no legal foundation."

The excluded parties complained that the candidate approval
process was arbitrary and lacked transparency -- a complaint that
was echoed by ambassadors from the European Union, the United
States and Canada.

Political analyst Antonio Frangoulis told the newspaper: "This
negative decision discredit the national electoral commissions and
other public institutions."

There are 17 parties which are running for seats in the
Mozambican parliament, known as the Assembly of the Republic, and, for the first time, provincial assemblies.

The elections will be fourth since the country became a
multi-party democracy 15 years ago.