Mozambique: Opposition warns against threats, intimidation by police

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Mozambique: Opposition warns against threats, intimidation by police

9:12 CAT | 12 Oct 2023

Photo: Notícias

Mozambique’s opposition called on the police to avoid “acts of threat and intimidation” in the local elections taking place on Wednesday, asking for a “republican” stance, while Frelimo, the ruling party, defended a ballot without disturbances.

“We want to urge the police to comply with the law. We don’t want excesses. We want every voter to be able to exercise their civic right without being threatened or intimidated,” said the president of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo, the largest opposition party), Ossufo Momade, speaking to journalists after exercising his right to vote in Maputo.

The Mozambican police have been accused by observers and opposition parties of violating electoral legislation in favour of the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo).

Today’s vote must be a moment of “celebration” and “not war”, emphasised Momade, calling for free, fair and transparent local elections.

The Renamo leader urged voters in the 65 municipalities to go to the polls and exercise their right to vote.

The president of the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), the country’s third largest party, Lutero Simango, also called on the police to act as a “republican” institution, avoiding a biased stance in protecting the electoral process.

“Our police must be republican police” and that the “generals should stop behaving like political commissars”, said Simango.

The leader of the second largest opposition party, which leads the municipality of Beira, called for “total vigilance” in the local elections so that the electoral process is free, fair and transparent.

The secretary-general of Frelimo, the ruling party, Roque Silva, reiterated his calls for voters not to remain in the polling stations after voting, pointing out that the ballot boxes are supervised by the political parties’ inspectors and observers.

“I would like to take this opportunity to urge you to heed the calls that have been made for all those who vote to go and wait at home,” emphasised Roque Silva, insisting on the requests that have been made by the electoral bodies.

According to voter registration data, 8,723,805 voters are registered in all the country’s districts with local authorities and 4,817,712 voters in the districts with local authorities.

These sixth local elections are attended by more than 20,311 national observers and at least 80 international observers from diplomatic missions accredited to Mozambique, as well as more than 866 journalists and 364 candidate delegates, according to official figures.

Mozambican voters are being asked to choose 65 new presidents of Municipal Councils and elected Municipal Assemblies, including 12 new municipalities approved by the Council of Ministers in October 2022, which join 53 existing ones, for a total of 1,747 members to be elected.

Mozambique is embarking on a new electoral cycle, which in addition to the local elections, includes general elections on 9 October 2024, namely with the choice of the country’s new President, a position for which the current head of state, Filipe Nyusi, can no longer constitutionally stand.

More than 11,500 candidates from 11 political parties, three coalitions of parties and eight citizens’ groups are running in the local elections, and the CNE has determined 1,486 places where polling stations will be set up and run and 6,875 polling stations.

In the 2018 local elections, Frelimo won in 44 of the 53 municipalities, the opposition in only nine, Renamo in eight and MDM in one.

Source: Lusa