Nampula by-election: Second round not later than March 14 – Watch

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Nampula by-election: Second round not later than March 14 – Watch

2:01 CAT | 15 Feb 2018

TVM / Constitutional Council

The Constitutional Council, Mozambique’s highest body in matters of constitutional and electoral law, on Wednesday validated and proclaimed the results of the mayoral by-election held in the northern city of Nampula on 24 January, and confirmed the need for a second round of voting.

Five parties contested the by-election – the ruling Frelimo Party, the rebel movement Renamo, the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), and two minor groupings, the Mozambique Humanitarian Party (Pahumo), and the previously unheard-of Action Party of the United Movement for Complete Salvation (Amusi).

The results as proclaimed by the Council are identical to those declared by the National Elections Commission (CNE) on 31 January. They are as follows (the percentages given are of valid votes).

Amisse Cololo (Frelimo) – 32,042 (44.51 per cent)
Paulo Vahanle (Renamo) – 29,029 (40.32 per cent)
Carlos Saide (MDM) – 7,273 (10.1 per cent)
Mario Albino (Amusi) – 3,072 (4.27 per cent)
Filomena Mutoropa (Pahumo) – 573 (0.8 per cent).

The Council noted the low turnout. Out of a registered Nampula electorate of 296,590 only 73,952 people voted, a turnout of 24.9 per cent.

The Council passed over in almost complete silence the disorganisation demonstrated by the CNE and its executive body, the Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE), during the election. It admitted that “some” polling stations opened late, but claimed this was for “justified reasons”.

But, since there were observers at all the 401 polling stations ,we know that 43 per cent of them opened late – some of them not until 09.30, fully two and a half hours after the official opening time of 07.00.

The main reason cited for late opening was the rain that fell in Nampula the previous day. Since 24 January is in the middle of the Mozambican rainy season, and since the forecast was for rain in Nampula, STAE should have taken precautions to protect the voting materials and stop them getting wet. This would have involved nothing more complicated than throwing tarpaulins over the materials that were transported to the polling stations on the back of pick-up trucks. But instead the materials were not delivered until the morning of election day, forcing delays in the opening of hundreds of stations.

Since no candidate received over 50 per cent of the votes, the Council confirmed that a second round must be held between the two candidates with the most votes, Cololo and Vahanle.

Under the electoral legislation, the government must, on the proposal of the CNE, fix a date for the second round within 30 days of the Constitutional Council validating the results of the first round. The CNE is meeting on Wednesday afternoon to propose a date to the government.

Mozambican elections are always held on a Wednesday, and sources close to the CNE believe that the most likely date is 7 March.

One serious inconvenience is that voter registration for the nationwide municipal elections scheduled for October is due to begin on 1 March. So Nampula citizens would be asked to vote in one election and register for a different election at the same time. One possible solution would be for the government to postpone the start of registration by one or two weeks.

Either Cololo or Vahanle will have the distinction of being the last Mozambican mayor directly elected by universal suffrage. For the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, has before it a set of constitutional amendments that will strip municipal citizens of their right to elect mayors.

Under the new proposals, only the municipal assembly will be elected. Whichever party or group wins the largest number of votes in the Assembly election will choose the mayor. The power to choose a mayor will thus pass put of the hands of the electorate, and into those of political party machines.

The Municipal Assembly will also have the power to sack and replace mayors, and so there will never again be any mayoral by-elections. Since the constitutional amendments have the support of both Frelimo and Renamo they are guaranteed the support required (two thirds of the deputies) to pass through parliament.

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Source: AIM / TVM