CIP Mozambique Elections: Priority continues for teachers and other civil servants

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CIP Mozambique Elections: Priority continues for teachers and other civil servants

7:14 CAT | 05 May 2023

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

Brigade members ignore instruction from STAE-Central and continue to obey Frelimo

At various voter registration posts, our correspondents are continuing to report cases where priority attendance is granted to public employees, which means that other potential voters who arrived at the queues in the early hours of the morning remain in line for the entire day without being able to register. This decision of the brigade members ignores the instruction from STAE-central, issued last Saturday, which orders the STAE provincial representations “to forbid the reception and special attendance to lists or organised groups outside the queues at the voter registration posts”.

In Alto Molócuè, the priority given to state employees and their acquaintances continues to dominate voter registration at various posts such as, for example, at the Futuro Melhor EPC. Staff from various sectors have enjoyed priority in the registration area, which infuriates the citizens who join the queues early in the morning, and end up being unable to register.

At the voter registration post at the Pista Velha EPC, also in Alto Molócuè, attendance is slow due to the priority given to the public employees, members of party cells and their friends. By the afternoon there were citizens who had not been able to register since the day when voter registration began. Some citizens, feeling tired, are abandoning this place or are resorting to other registration posts.

In the Inhamidzua Schools and at the Primary Teacher Training Institute, in Beira, teachers are given priority in registration.

In the Gungunhana Complete Primary School, in Tete city, citizens are denouncing cases of corruption and favouritism at the registration post. According to the interviewees, the STAE brigade members and the political party monitors, in the early hours of the day, attend to their relatives and friends to the detriment of those who have been in the queue since midnight. They say that in the room where the registration occurs, because it is the pedagogical sector, there are also cases of people who pretend to be teachers, wearing some kind of gown while they go to register. The supervisor denies the existence of cases of corruption.

In Monapo, the teachers were instructed to register in the schools where they work. However, at the post in the Napala Primary School, the Renamo monitors did not allow this to happen. As a result, there was agitation and an exchange of words between the supervisor of the registration post and the Renamo monitor. And there are signs that at the same post the brigade members are bribed by potential voters in order to facilitate the registration. The bribes include, for example, sacks of groundnuts. Even so, the citizens who pay bribes spend two or three days without managing to register, as we learned from a voter who used the same scheme to obtain registration and a voter card.

In Angoche, the voters accuse the brigade members of giving priority in attendance to their acquaintances and to teachers. That morning, none of the voters who were in the queue, including elderly people and pregnant women, were processed. Only teachers were registered.

Other news on the registration

At the Cebola and 7 April registration posts, in Milange municipality, there are enormous queues of citizens who have been at the post since early morning. One of the voters interviewed said he has been in the queue since dawn, but has still been unable to register.

In the Vila EPC, in Caia, in Sofala, the machine was working, there was a greater flow of voters, but some voters complain they were prevented from registering, supposedly because they are members of Renamo.

At the Nhamago EPC, which is 155km from Caia town, voter registration has halted since last Saturday, because of a printer breakdown.

At the Nova Jerusalém EPC, in Gorongosa, the voters have spent three days without being able to register. Some even brought food to eat during the time they spent in the enormous queues.

In Milange, at the post in the Balala General Secondary School, in Tengua locality, the machines continue to reject elderly voters. At the same post, the brigade has been unable to print cards since yesterday because the roll for printing PVC cards had finished. The case has been reported to STAE and the post is waiting for a new roll to be sent. At the same post, some citizens complain that they have gone for a week without receiving their voter cards, which is wearing them out.

In Vilankulo, in Inhambane province, at the Muabsa complete primary school, brigade members have noted a decline in the number of voters since 23 April. From 20 to 22 April, the brigade managed to register about 70-80 voters, and now, on average, about 20 voters a day are being registered.

Also in Inhambane, at the Nhamua EPC registration post, few people are showing up to register. By this Thursday afternoon (4 May), the post had only registered 14 voters.

At the UNAVE Campus2 registration post in Maxixe, Inhambane, there were also few voters. Only 34 voters had registered by 13.00 this Thursday.

In Cuamba, in Niassa, the registration has been marked by constant equipment breakdowns. This left many of the posts unable to operate. Many voters gave up, and abandoned the posts to carry out their daily work.

Also in Cuamba, a policeman who was protecting the registration post in a school (which we shall not name, in order to protect him) confided to us that the brigade members are inventing machine breakdowns, supposedly to benefit the Frelimo Party, which has its anonymous lists to register. This is a strategy to recover the municipality, which is currently run by Renamo.

In Mocímboa da Praia, in Cabo Delgado, at the registration post in the 30 June EPC, the two machines are registering voters who marked their place in the queue two days ago. The slowness in processing voters remains glaring.

Yesterday (3 May) on Mozambique Island, Nampula province, the registration post at the Gulamo Mosque did not have the normal queue of voters due to the commemorations of the anniversary of the death of Afonso Dlakama. The same situation occurred at the Ampapa post, 36km from Mozambique Island town, and at the Antemano post 31 km from the town.

Source: ~Centro de Integridade Pública - CIP