Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi on Tuesday September 26 dismissed Stela Pinto Novo Zeca as Secretary of State for Sofala province, in the center of the country, the Presidency of the Republic said in a statement.
The note does not mention the reasons for the dismissal, at a time when Stela Pinto Novo Zeca is running for mayor of the city of Beira, the capital of Sofala province, in the local elections on October 11.
The politician is running for office on the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo), whose president is Filipe Nyusi.
The Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), a Mozambican non-governmental organization (NGO), has criticized Stela Pinto Novo Zeca’s candidacy for mayor while still in the position of Secretary of State, considering it illegal. Today Wednesday September 27, more than 11,500 candidates from 11 political parties, three coalitions of parties and eight citizens’ groups began the electoral campaign for the Mozambican local elections on October 11, amid calls for a peaceful process.