None of the seven new members of the Frelimo Political Commission are linked to former President Armando Guebuza, which means President Filipe Nyusi has gained effective control of the party. The new members were elected early this morning at the end of the 11th Frelimo party congress in Matola. Remaining members of the Central Committee were elected at the Congress Sunday and the new Central Committee then elected the 40% of the Political Commission that can be changed at the Congress.
Three of Nyusi's ministers were elected:
+ Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario (142 votes)
+ Interior Minister Basilio Monteiro (111 votes)
+ Deputy Foreign Minister Nyelete Mondlane (168 votes, the highest)
Three people who held posts under Chissano but not Guebuza were elected:
+ Manuel Tome, former Frelimo Secretary General (161 votes)
+ Aires Ali, Minister of Education under Chissano and briefly Prime Minister under Guebuza but sacked in 2012 (136 votes)
+ Tomas Salomao, former finance minister (128 votes)
The seventh person elected is Ana Rita Sithole (132 votes), an MP and member of the parliamentary permanent commission, who was an early supporter of Nyusi.
President Filipe Nyusi is automatically a member. Ten members were re-elected: Alberto Chipande, Eneas Comiche, Eduardo Mulembwe, Raimundo Pachinuapa, Sergio Pantie, Filipe Paunde, Veronica Macamo, Margarida Talapa, Conceita Sortane, and Alcinda de Abreu. Of the 17 elected members, 7 are women.
Jose Pacheco, Alberto Vaquina, Carvalho Muaria, Esperanca Bias and Lucilia Hama were not re-elected to the Political Commission. Former Secretary Secretary General Eliseu Machava decided not to stand. Cadmiel Muthemba could not stand for re-election because he was not even elected to the Central Committee.
