Electoral conflicts in Mozambique due to misinterpretation of election law, STAE says

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Electoral conflicts in Mozambique due to misinterpretation of election law, STAE says

11:33 CAT | 29 Jun 2017

Lusa (File photo)

Misinterpretation of electoral legislation is one of the main causes of pre- and post-electoral conflicts in Mozambique, according to the director general of the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE), Felisberto Naife.

Speaking at a training session on preventing electoral conflicts, Naife argued that different interpretations of the electoral law influenced behaviour during the electoral process. “The way in which the electoral legislation is interpreted, the procedures followed, can lead to the penalisation of some political parties, which then becomes a source of pre- and post-electoral conflict in the country. The behaviour of some electoral agents and supporters of political parties on the ground also causes conflict,” Naife explained.

naife.stae.aim — Felisberto Naife (AIM, file photo)

The training workshop in Maputo brought together representatives of political parties, police and local communities.

Naife said the meeting was also intended to solicit opinions from different stakeholders to help improve the institution’s performance in the elections of 2018 and 2019. “This type of interaction has been very useful, because we hear different opinions and multiple issues are discussed,” he said.

The Center for Studies and Development (CEDE), which promoted the event, hopes the training will help prevent pre- and post-election violence in the future.

The CEDE considers that now is the right time to bring together the main players in political processes – political parties, police, civil society, administrative and electoral management bodies. “We intend to find mechanisms to mitigate violence and also eliminate the conflicts that occur in electoral processes in our countries,” said Eduardo Sitoe, executive director of CEDE.

Sitoe also said that this was the first of many initiatives that the organisation would arrange, adding that CEDE hoped to work with stakeholders before, during and after the election.

Source: O País