Maputo, Aug 7 (IANS): Mozambique's National Election Commission (CNE) has announced the positioning of political parties on the ballot paper for the October elections, with the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM) taking the first position, the ruling party Frelimo the second, and the main opposition RENAMO the third.

In addition to the ballot draw, Rodrigues Timba, the coordinator of legal and ethical affairs of CNE, also released the schedule for airtime allocation for political parties on public media outlets.

According to Timba, who spoke at a press conference in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, Tuesday, the airtime will be weekly and rotational, not only for the three parliamentary parties but also for other extra-parliamentary parties contesting the seventh general elections, reported Xinhua news agency.

The announcement of the party positions comes amid the recent exclusion of the Democratic Alliance Coalition (CAD) from the Legislative Elections, Provincial Assemblies and Provincial Governor elections, following a ruling by the Constitutional Council. Only CAD's leader Venancio Mondlane remains in the presidential race.

Paulo Cuinica, CNE's spokesperson, said that the electoral campaign will start on Aug. 24 and run until Oct. 6, 2024, requiring a total amount of 240 million Mozambican meticais (about 3.8 million US dollars).

Most of this amount, if made available, will be allocated to the political parties to support their campaigns, Cuinica said. "The CNE awaits the disbursement of this amount from the Ministry of Economy and Finance," he said.