CIP Mozambique Elections: Registration computers found in Matola houses and other election news

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CIP Mozambique Elections: Registration computers found in Matola houses and other election news

9:32 CAT | 15 May 2023

Photo: CIP

More registration equipment found in homes in Matola

Two more sets of registration equipment in Matola is being kept in private homes believed to be of neighbourhood heads. It is feared that equipment was used during the night to register voters from outside the municipal area.

One set was found by opposition monitors in Ndlavela neighbourhood, in T3 in Matola. This is equipment from brigade 105, located in Campo de Ndlavela, block 25 (video).

The second batch of equipment was found in a house in Bunhiça neighbourhood, in Machava administrative post of Matola (video and photo below, showing the kit being loaded into a car). The equipment is used by the brigade located at block 64 . The supervisor said that she just received orders from the coordinator to take the equipment to be kept in that residence, and she was not responsible for moving the equipment to that house.

Equipment must be kept over night in the STAE warehouse, or in the registration posts under police protection, as in the past, but in this registration many “Mobile IDs” (as the registration computers are known) have been found in private homes. Last week, the opposition monitors found a Mobile, with its respective printer, in the home of a brigade member.

Also, in Chókwè, Gaza, some mobiles are kept overnight in the homes of locality heads, or in unknown homes. In Ribáuè mobiles were transported at night to register voters from outside the municipal area and to print voter cards, which confirmed the suspicions that there has been clandestine registration in many parts of the country.

Director of STAE says there is no evidence voters came from Moamba

The Maputo provincial director of the Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE), Paulo Chambale, said on Thursday (11 May) that he has not yet received any denunciation of the movement of about fifty people from Mahoche, in the Pessene administrative post, Moamba district, to register in Matola. (Reported here Wednesday 10 May)

“As the STAE director in Maputo province, I have no knowledge of this. Nor does the Provincial Elections Commission know about it. A short while ago, we were at a meeting which discussed how the registration was going. This matter was not even mentioned. So right now I would have great difficulties to talk about a matter which has not even reached my hands yet”, said Chambal.

The voters were transported in a bus of the Matola Municipal Transport Company. Some of the voters admitted that they had come from Tenga to register, but for the director of STAE, this does not constitute any evidence.

1/4 of registration posts have problems

A survey by our correspondents Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows that 25% of registration posts have problems. The main problems are with printers, and lack of materials, notably registration forms (Boletins de inscrição). In more than 10% of posts, voters’ cards were not being issued, and in some cases had not been issued for several days.

In two provinces there are major issues. Our correspondents found that in Sofala 56% of registration posts had problems, and in Nampula, 42%.

In a few places there were still special “priority” queues for teachers or other civil servants, even though these have been banned.

In comparison to earlier surveys, there were many more reports of smooth operation of registration posts. But the share of registration posts with problems remains very high.

Observers and media barred in Ilha de Moçambique, Beira and Barué

The chair of the Ilha de Moçambique district elections commission (CDE) has stopped reporting and observation by our correspondents, saying he does not recognise badges issued by the Nampula provincial elections commission (CPE). He says the CPE should have issued a “credential” and not a plastic coated badge on a string as issued by all provinces. The photo shows badges issued in Inhambane.