Mozambique: Electoral irregularities and low turnout mar Nampula by-election

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Mozambique: Electoral irregularities and low turnout mar Nampula by-election

1:30 CAT | 15 Mar 2018

DW / Second-round vote in Nampula by-election

Low turnout at polling stations and problems with voter registration were repeated in the second round of the by-election in Nampula. The electoral administration bodies acknowledge the problems, but have downplayed their impact.

The second-round vote to elect a new mayor of Nampula, the third largest city in Mozambique, closed at around 6:00 pm yesterday, and counting began. But some of the problems in the first round on January 24 recurred – one being low turnout, and the other problems with the electoral registers.

“There was a lack of advice surrounding the electoral campaign. The Technical Secretariat of the Electoral Administration (STAE) should create mechanisms to raise people’s awareness regarding voting. If you want to avoid someone getting into the power against your wishes, you’d better go and vote,” was voter Santos Felisberto’s view.

Mosambik Zwischenwahl in Nampula | Juma Aiuba — *Juma Aiuba*

Edmundo Manuel voted in the Namuatho Primary School near his residence without any problems, but lamented the poor turnout. “As we’re talking about Namuatho [an agricultural area], maybe residents went to their plots instead,” was his thought.

Irregularities mar electoral process

The Peace Room [Sala da Paz], a group of civil society organisations that observed the vote, confirmed there were problems, as well as suspecting that abstentions may have been higher than the 75 percent in the first round.

“We have had reports of electoral offences, such as the arrest of two young men who were campaigning for the Renamo candidate [after the official close of campaigning], as well the case of a woman who allegedly delivered a list of 24 outsiders [ineligible voters] to the chairman,” the organisation’s spokesman Juma Aiuba reports.

“The only thing that worries us right now is abstention levels. We are afraid that they will exceed the first round’s 75 percent,” he says.

Press: Rádio Encontro complains of sabotage during Nampula by-election campaign

Image result for MoÃ§ambique: IlÃcitos e abstenÃ§Ã£o mancham intercalares em Nampula

Positive evaluation of the Police and CNE

The police spokesman of the Republic of Mozambique (PRM) in Nampula, Zacarias Nacute, minimises illicit acts in the elections. “Everything has been under control so far, and we have not had any surprises. Residents have behaved in an orderly way and the process went smoothly,” he said.

Electoral administration bodies have acknowledged that there were problems, but they say they had little impact and were by and large resolved.

“There may have been organisational problems, but these were not intentional. At this point, I believe that the process was orderly,” Martinho Marcelino, president of the Nampula District Election Commission, said.

A total of 296,590 voters were registered to vote at 401 polling stations in both the first and second rounds.

Source: Deutsche Welle