Mozambique: Significant illegalities question election credibility – observers

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Mozambique: Significant illegalities question election credibility – observers

5:59 CAT | 10 Oct 2024

Photo: Sala da Paz

Sala da Paz, a group of election observer organisations, on Thursday warned of “significant cases” of illegalities in Wednesday’s elections in Mozambique that call into question the credibility of the process, but called on the contestants to accept the results.

“Sala da Paz says that the phase of counting and tallying of the election results at the polling stations took place peacefully and in an orderly manner. However, there were also significant cases of illegalities and electoral irregularities that may raise questions about the credibility of the process,” the organisation states in a report on the counting and partial tabulation of results, sent to the media today.

Sala da Paz observers reported incidents registered from 8:00 pm on Wednesday until the early hours of today, with 3,549 polling stations having been visited in all Mozambican provinces.

The systematic power outages during the vote counting period, unavailability of equipment (flashlights, chalk and blackboards), increased police security, people arrested with pre-marked ballot papers and the delay and failure to post result sheets in some polling stations were reported by observers as among the problems observed in Wednesday’s election.

“There is a tense moment in the town of Moatize, [in Tete, in central Mozambique], where people set up barricades, allegedly to contest the results of the partial count. The police are on the ground and launched tear gas to reduce the unrest. However, the atmosphere remained tense until 10:40 a.m. today,” the document reads.

READ: Mozambique Elections: Tension in Moatize – Miramar

Despite the illegalities and irregularities that were found, the Peace Room asked that candidates in the general elections accept the resultsm and that Mozambicans await their announcement “calmly”, adopting a stance of “serenity and non-violence”.

“We call on all candidates to respect the democratic process, recognizing that elections are an expression of the will of the people. It is essential to accept the results as a manifestation of the voters’ choice,” the report states.

The Peace Room says it will continue to monitor the process until the results are validated by the Constitutional Council, also asking that the protection bodies exercise their functions with “impartiality and integrity”, in compliance with legal parameters.

Wednesday’s general elections included the seventh presidential elections – in which the current head of state, Filipe Nyusi, is no longer running, having reached the constitutional two-term limit – simultaneously with the seventh legislative elections and the fourth elections for provincial assemblies and governors.

The candidates running for President of the Republic in this election are Lutero Simango, supported by the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM, the third largest parliamentary force), Daniel Chapo, with the support of the Liberation Front of Mozambique (Frelimo, in power since 1975), Venâncio Mondlane, supported by the extra-parliamentary Podemos party, and Ossufo Momade, with the support of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo, the largest opposition party).

If there is no second-round vote, publication of the results of the presidential election by the National Elections Commission can take up to 15 days. The results are then sent for validation by the Constitutional Council, which can analyse any appeals, but which has no particular deadline for proclaiming the official result.

The voting included legislative elections (250 deputies) as well as for provincial assemblies and their respective provincial governors, in this case with 794 seats to be distributed. The CNE approved lists of 35 political parties running for the Assembly of the Republic and 14 political parties and groups of citizens voting for the provincial assemblies.

Source: Lusa