“Mozambican State should tighten law on creation of political parties”

Mozambican lawyer Abdul Carimo says that the state should tighten up laws on the formation, registration and activity of political parties in Mozambique in line with the provisions of the 2005 Constitution of the Republic, particularly with a view to discouraging the proliferation of political parties which are only politically active during elections.Mozambique currently has 60 political parties and 14 political party coalitions registered, but less than ten display any regular activity. The remainder appear only at election time, principally to collect funding that the state makes available to defray the costs of electoral campaigns. Lack of rigor in monitoring the use of these public funds means leaders of phantom political parties see them simply as an opportunity to make money during elections.Carimo also suggests that monitoring the activities and funding of political parties be transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Constitutional Council.The lawyer, who was also Deputy Speaker of Parliament from 1994 to 1999, was speaking at a meeting that brought together representatives of political parties, the Mozambican Bar Association, the Electoral Observatory and the Institute for Mullti-party Democracy to analyse the Law on Political Parties adopted in 1992.