Mozambique’s Constitutional Council (CC) announced on Wednesday (26) the position of the four candidates on the ballot paper for the presidential elections scheduled for 9 October, following a draw to determine the order of the contestants, according to information published by Lusa.
According to Lúcia Ribeiro, president of the CC, “Lutero Chimbirombiro Simango will occupy the first position, followed by Daniel Francisco Chapo in second place, Venâncio António Bila Mondlane in third, and Ossufo Momade in fourth,” adding that “the draw was conducted randomly, using numbered balls corresponding to each candidate.”
For her part, Sílvia Cheia, representing Lutero Simango, who is running for the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), said that starting in first position is “advantageous”, but emphasised the need to work hard to achieve victory in October.
João Muchine, representing Daniel Chapo, whose candidacy is supported by the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo), expressed satisfaction with the number two position, promising an election campaign focussed on disseminating more information to voters.
Geraldo Carvalho, who represented Ossufo Momade, the candidate of the National Resistance of Mozambique (Renamo), the main opposition party, assured that the fourth position on the ballot paper would not diminish his candidate’s visibility. “We’re going to make sure that all Mozambicans, in all the country’s dialects, know in which position we will be represented.”
However, Venâncio Mondlane, candidate for the Democratic Alliance Coalition (CAD), was not present at the draw, nor was his representative.
