Mozambique Elections: Non-parliamentary parties accuse Frelimo of illicit acts in local elections
Lusa (File photo)
The Public Integrity Center (CIP), a Mozambican NGO focused on transparency in public administration, said yesterday that, to ensure the impartiality of the body, members of the National Electoral Commission (CNE) should be selected by public tender.
According to a CIP study presented yesterday in the Mozambican capital, the fact that a large number of CNE members come from political parties makes them vulnerable to external pressure.
“A feeling of stability in the position would make officials less vulnerable to political pressure, since in the performance of his duties he would only be subject to the discipline of his function,” the analysis said.
In the current situation, some CNE members occupy their posts as political agents, because their selection depends on party favour, the document reads.
On the other hand, the CIP continues, the CNE should be smaller in size, in order to be sustainable and impervious to major political disputes, and should have at most five members, against the current 17.
The selection of the members of the CNE, the research recommends, should be made by an independent and impartial jury and composed of personalities of recognised merit.
“The body to be proposed should see its independence reinforced by the principles of independence, impartiality, integrity, transparency, efficiency, professionalism and the public interest,” the survey says.
According to the study, the constant change in the number of CNE members shows that the legislature itself has not yet settled on the ideal model and, given the large number of CNE members since the 1994 elections, it is time to try the smaller body proposed.
At the moment, the representativeness of the CNE members, whether nominated by political parties or from civil society, does not guarantee stability, although the mandate and security of tenure provide some guarantee of stability.
The last elections, held in 2014, were disputed by the opposition, alleging fraud, with the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) now demanding to govern in the six provinces where it claims victory. This has sparked the resurgence of armed confrontations with the government in the centre and north of the country.
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