No decision on election date

A decision is yet to be made by the national electoral body on the date of Mozambique’s next general elections, state administration minister Alfredo Gamito told IRIN. “The president of the electoral commission must propose a date to the head of state,” Gamito said. The elections were planned to take place in October. But parliamentary delays forced a slippage in the timetable. Under the constitution the deadline for the polls is December, in the middle of the raining season, which would cause havoc with the logistics of the electoral process if the polls were held then. By shortening the voter registration period, “technically it is possible to have the elections this year,” Gamito said. “It means that it is necessary to change the law, but it is possible.” Postponing the elections until after the rains in April next year “would make things very difficult” he added, requiring the creation of a caretaker government to run the country from December until the polls.