The National Electoral Commission (CNE) may launch in the coming days a public tender for the selection of a new Director-General of the Technical Secretariat of Electoral Administration (STAE), reports the newspaper Domingo, citing a deliberation dated March 16, 2022.

According to the publication, such an event will only take place when the current Director-General of STAE, Felisberto Naife, in office since November 14, 2007, steps down, which could happen at any time.

Felisberto Naife has been in charge of the body for about 15 years, having organized the voting in the 2008, 2013, and 2018 municipal elections, as well as the 2009, 2014, and 2019 general elections.

Naife was sworn in before the then Prime Minister, Luísa Diogo, and replaced António Carrasco, who had held the position for a decade.

He previously served as head of the Department of Civic Education, until 2001, when he was appointed to the area of Training and Civic Education.

To close its seat, the CNE is producing the respective terms of reference with a view to launching the tender, a process that should take place during the week that began this Sunday.

These demarches come at a time when preparations are underway for the sixth municipal elections called for October 11, 2023.

To this end, within 60 days of the date being set, the Provincial Election Commissions (CPE) and City Commissions must be installed, and then it will be the turn of the District Election Commissions (CDE) within 30 days of the members of the Provincial Election Commissions taking office.

This will be followed by the installation of the CNE and STAE support bodies at the district or city level, with the integration at all levels of elements nominated by the political parties.

Other procedures will take place, namely, fixing and announcing the period for voter registration, accreditation of proxies, observers, and journalists, up to 30 days before the beginning of the process; of political party inspectors up to 3 days before the beginning of the electoral census.