CNE suspends Beira STAE district director, extends hours, goes to provinces to curb frauds | CIP Mozambique Elections

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CNE suspends Beira STAE district director, extends hours, goes to provinces to curb frauds | CIP Mozambique Elections

8:19 CAT | 18 May 2023

FILE - The WhatsApp group was created by the district director on the day voter registration began, 20 April, but only began to add the supervisors as from 24 April. File photo: DW

CNE suspends Beira STAE district director, extends hours, goes to provinces to curb frauds

The National Electoral Commission (CNE) this afternoon (Wednesday 17 May) took action to respond to the report below and similar ones since registrations began:

It ordered the preventive suspension of the STAE Beira district director Nelson Carlos do Rosario and all registration supervisors.

It was decided that as of this Thursday CNE members and central STAE technicians should travel to all provinces for 10 days to supervise the voter register.

The CNE instructed STAE, with immediate effect, to increase voter registration by two hours, with polling stations opening at 7am and closing at 5pm. STAE was also instructed to allocate more computers in the most critical provinces in terms of numbers of registered voters, namely Sofala, Zambezia, Nampula, Niassa, and Tete.

CIP Elections reveals scheme to exclude opposition voters in Beira to benefit Frelimo

We have access to a WhatsApp group called “STAE Supervisor Beira” administered by the Beira district director of STAE, Nelson Carlos do Rosario. In the messages exchanged between them it is clear that the slowness in attendance, some breakdowns of machines, the rejection of witnesses and demanding semi-official documents such as neighbourhood declarations are deliberate and are part of the scheme to wear out the opposition electorate and benefit Frelimo. It is a film with grotesque episodes.

The WhatsApp group was created by the district director on the day voter registration began, 20 April, but only began to add the supervisors as from 24 April.

“Strike hard at the enemy”

The first step to block opposition voters was taken at 13.46 on 25 April, when the STAE district director instructed the supervisors to reject the complaints of the monitors from the opposition parties. “Do not sign or accept the complaints of the monitors. We cannot facilitate them”, he wrote. The instruction of the director was to make it as difficult as possible for those whom they call “the enemy”. “The mission”, according to Nelson Carlos do Rosário, “is to destroy the enemy”. The enemy are the voters of the opposition.

“Strike hard at the enemy were the words of our chief, our general staff. Today we are applying them”, commented supervisor Nhanombe TF, who proposed to his colleagues that they use the scheme which he had already been using to block those whom he calls “monkeys”: “For me, recognise the identity card, the voter card of all the comrades with the confirmation of one of the Frelimo monitors and members of the brigade. From the monkeys, accept one or other of them, but not the majority of them”.

The suggestion of Gito Tomás Nhanombe is that the brigade members should only recognise and receive documents from Frelimo and reject those that are presented by voters of the opposition. Only a few members and voters from the opposition should be accepted in order not to create conditions for objections and disturbances.

One of the supervisors told of his system to block voters – demanding more documents from voters at his registration post, located in the Industrial Zone. “I have even demanded a work card from those who say they work at the port or at CFM”, he boasted, declaring with pride “The circle is closed” against the opposition. Gizela Patrício added, “At my post, the interview makes it seem that we are working in SERNIC”, the National Criminal Investigation Service.

Another message, written by the supervisor Linete Ucama, addressed to the director of STAE and to her colleagues, says that there appeared at her registration post “the so-called heads of posts of the MDM of Manga neighbourhood without badges”, looking for “three INE graduates who were going to the boarding house. They walked with them to the gate”. Then, she adds, “they asked who sent you to register? Didn’t a car appear with young people from Buzi?” They asked whether the youths were guests at the local boarding house. At that point “one of our [i.e. Frelimo] monitors” appeared. “He rang up the commander, and so they are detained”. It is not clear whether the detainees are the heads of the posts, or the youths.

The response from the STAE district director was: “Well done. Family, we can congratulate ourselves. The enemy is nervous, but we need to continue attacking”. And he gave an instruction: “accept witnesses and cards, only if it benefits us: otherwise, don’t”.

Another participant warns his colleagues to be “always attentive and aligned”, because “this is our turn”. Another member of the group approves of the idea, and applauds: “that’s right… Let’s go do this.…in war you don’t hand out sweets…fleas are pulled out and bleed. Lets pull out the flea. Now it’s us …the force of change”.

In one of the messages, the supervisor Gizela Patrício expresses concern that a large number of voters have registered in one of the posts and she exclaims “I hope that at least 90% are our comrades, who have registered, otherwise we are screwed”.

Paulino Tato Luís informs the STAE district Director that “I want to order the arrest of the secretary of the First Macuti neighbourhood. He is always probing at my registration post”. In response, Nelson Carlos de Rosário authorises the arrest: “Do it, chief”.

READ: Two more clandestine registration posts, MDM demands prosecution of STAE director in Beira and other news | CIP Mozambique Elections

“The mission of liberating Beira” is not for the faint hearted

In the task of manipulating the voter registration to favour Frelimo it is forbidden to hesitate or to be afraid. In one message, the supervisor Evangelista Sanculane criticises some of his colleagues who are apparently afraid to put into operation the orders of their chiefs.

“I’m very sorry, but there are colleagues who lose their nerve, and tremble when faced with some situations. Supervisor, you’re not there by any chance.” Sanculane reminds his colleagues that they do not occupy their positions by accident: “You have a mission to liberate the city from the anti-patriots. But with this trembling at carrying out instructions, where are you going? If you can’t bear it, resign while it’s still early, instead of distracting us”.

Another supervisor recommends that Sanculane send the fearful supervisor to him: “Send this supervisor who still has problems to me. You exercise the job of supervisor”.

STAE director notes: “CIP observers are great bandits”

Sofala is one of the provinces where CIP faced great barriers to obtain accreditation. The CIP letter of request was returned under various pretexts. Accreditation was only possible by resorting to higher levels of the provincial STAE. The conversations in the Beira WhatsApp group explains why the local STAE was worried.

In one of the messages, the STAE district director in Beira issues a warning with the title: “Attention, Important Message”, in which he wrote the following: “Family, let’s pay a lot of attention to the observers of the electoral process, particularly those from CIP (these are great bandits).” He then explains why he considers them “great bandits”. “During voter registration, observers only have the right to observe (watch, see). At the PdR (registration post) the observers cannot interview anybody (not the brigade members, or members of the public), They may not take photographs and may not interfere in the process”. And he gives a recommendation to his colleagues: “if an observer does not comply with these duties, instruct the police to expel him from the place where the PdR is operating”.

Beira is just where the scheme was discovered. It was uncovered, but everything reported in the document that the MDM has submitted to the bodies of justice is reported every day by our correspondents in all districts where the voter registration is taking place.

Source: Centro de Integridade Pública - CIP