MOZAMBIQUE: October elections "on track"

Preparations for Mozambique's October general elections are said to be "on track" with the appointment of Rev. Jaimise Taimo as the new head of the National Elections Commission. Jennifer Tilly of UNDP's governance unit in Maputo told IRIN on Friday that his appointment was likely to have a positive effect on election preparations because the commission was now fully established and could "tackle the task at hand." Taimo was appointed by President Joaquim Chissano after the commission failed to reach a consensus on who would head the organisation. Tilly said registration of the country's estimated eight million eligible voters had not yet started, but June to mid August had been suggested as the proposed registration period. She added that it was still very early in the process and that the commission "was still debating the more technical aspects of the registration process." Early this month the voter registration law was amended to allow for a fresh registration of the country's entire electorate. Under the original law, the voters roll was meant to be updated on a yearly basis. But to date there has only been one review which took place in late 1997. The full cost of the election has been estimated at US $40 million, of which US $9.8 million is to come from the Mozambican government itself. The European Union has said it would contribute about US $23 million with the balance coming from other donors through UNDP.