For the first time in Mozambique, a female presidential candidate emerged; Alice Mabota. The Mozambicans will have in history a woman on their ballot paper in the forthcoming election; in October.

The esteemed human rights activist and former President of the Mozambique Human Rights League filed her papers on the ticket for Presidential candidate of some group of parties.

Alice will be contesting in cooperation with the Democratic Alliance Coalition, CAD, a group of six parties where she does not belong to any but chosen as a candidate to run on their ticket.

She becomes the fifth candidate to file papers for the forthcoming election on October 15, with President Filipe Nyusi contesting for a second term in office.

She said “I am not scared. I know I will face stones and boulders, but I cannot give up”.

She stressed that despite spending over three decades fighting for justice, she was on a mission to rescue Mozambique, “… the country is now going backwards in terms of the rule of law,” she said after filing.

Under Mozambican electoral laws, the nomination papers of all candidates are examined and cleared by the Constitutional Council, Mozambique’s highest body in matters of Constitutional and Electoral law.