Frelimo gears up for elections

But who will be the next presidential candidate?

Good afternoon, ahead of a long weekend in Mozambique; tomorrow is a public holiday for Mozambican Heroes’ Day which falls on Saturday, 4 February.

Mozambique is now on an election footing. Yesterday, the pilot phase of the voter registration process got underway; also this week, the secretary general of opposition party Renamo visited Cabo Delgado, holding a rally in Montepuez, a town Renamo has in its sights for the municipal elections this October.

Frelimo is also gearing up — and yesterday announced the establishment of an office to prepare for the municipal elections, headed by the party’s secretary general but staffed by top ministers from the government. Agriculture minister Celso Correia is head of the election campaign, prime minister Adriano Maleiane is in charge of finances, and foreign minister Veronica Macamo is in charge of ‘internal activities’.

One conclusion to draw is that the government will now be distracted by elections for the next 18 months. Though we don’t know how much of their workload these ministers are expected to devote to electioneering, whatever it is will have to come out of their government work (for which they will presumably continue to draw a full-time salary).

These and other ministers have also been given jobs as heads of Frelimo’s ‘central brigades’, providing assistance to the party’s provincial branches. Correia is head of the brigade for Nampula; Macamo for Tete; Maleiane is the deputy head for Zambézia.

The appointments demonstrate the seriousness with which Frelimo is taking the upcoming elections. Though the opposition seems to be at a low ebb, the ruling party is leaving nothing to chance, particularly in the light of falling living standards, and the ongoing conflict in the north of the country, among other challenges.

The appointment of Celso Correia, a key mover in Filipe Nyusi’s appointment as presidential candidate in 2014 and the campaign manager for his resounding reelection in 2019, is the key one. He is presumably also working behind the scenes on who will be the next presidential candidate: whether him, his boss, or someone else entirely.

The race to be the next candidate is still wide open, but one name to keep an eye on is former defence minister Jaime Neto, who has just been appointed secretary of state in Nampula province. He was born in Inhambane, in the south of the country, but cut his political teeth in Sofala, where he was Frelimo’s top party officer, before entering government. He now has a role in the most populous province in the country — where he will rub shoulders with Frelimo’s brigade head there, Celso Correia. If Nyusi and Correia need a placeholder candidate without his own power base, Neto would fit the bill. But Guebuza probably thought the same when he supported his lightweight defence minister to become Frelimo’s candidate in 2014…

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Agenda:

• Today: President Nyusi hosts a new year reception for the foreign diplomatic corps 

• Tomorrow: Public holiday in Mozambique, ahead of Heroes’ Day on Saturday

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The latest from Zitamar News:

Chinese logger exports thousands of tonnes of Mozambican timber in defiance of ban
Chinese import records show that Mozambique’s top timber exporter to China illegally exported at least 497 shipments of logs between 2019 and 2021, including 242 shipments of the protected Nkula and Mondzo species

Gemrock prepares to reopen ruby mine following October attack
The Gemrock ruby mine in Cabo Delgado is aiming to restart operations this month with reinforced security from government forces

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💥 Conflict updates:

1 February 2023: N380 highway, Macomia district, Cabo Delgado
Insurgents ambushed three vehicles on the N380 road between Macomia and Silva Macua. Two were killed, including a nurse, and seven were injured. Money and other goods were stolen

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Also in the news:

• Frelimo creates 2023 electoral preparatory office

• ...and appoints new chiefs of central brigades

• Parliament to debate MP's alleged involvement in drug trafficking

• Mozambican business association looking forward to talks with TotalEnergies CEO

Today’s front pages in Maputo. Photo © Faizal Chauque / Zitamar News