Daviz Simango: “International observers are not in a position to observe elections”

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Daviz Simango: “International observers are not in a position to observe elections”

2:02 CAT | 18 Oct 2018

Daviz Simango: "Rule by force, despite the will of the electorate, cannot be tolerated."

Daviz Simango, the leader of the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), Mozambique second-largest opposition party, criticises the electoral process and the performance of international observers, and says that the STAE does not serve citizens’ interests.

In an interview with DW Africa, MDM leader Daviz Simango has criticised the contribution of the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE) in the October 10 local elections.

Simango, who was re-elected to a fourth term as mayor of Beira, where Mozambique’s third-largest parliamentary party won 45.77% of the vote, also says that international observers, as currently constituted, are not in a position to observe the elections properly. “They’re still a drop in the ocean,” he says.

DW Africa: Are you satisfied with the voting process?

Daviz Simango (DS): In general, we must continue to look at the integrity of our electoral processes in Mozambique, especially as concerns the functioning and behaviour of electoral bodies. Once again, we find the STAE serving private interests, and continuing to undermine the voters’ will, the manifestation of those who seek to vote in a free manner.

We see voters whose names are not in the registers list prevented from voting. We see coerced voters receiving one, two, three ballot papers simultaneously. We have seen some voting table members behave unacceptably as to the rule of law. So long as these negative and harmful procedures persist, of course I am not personally satisfied.

DW Africa: Has the MDM, like Renamo, felt that it has been harmed in some municipalities?

DS: Of course, we were harmed. We have the concrete and absurd case of Gurué. During campaigning, shots were fired in Gurué, even on voting day. Therefore, it cannot be tolerated that people rule by force, despite the will of the voters. This manner of trying to take power discourages citizens, promotes abstention and increases disinterest in the political and social life of the country, which is serious because it harms future generations, who will go on living out the anguish of their elders, thinking that this is a precedent and that is how life is in Mozambique.

DW Africa: With regard to the Mozambique police, do you think they have fulfilled their functions or have also served private interests, as what MDM claims to have occurred with the STAE?

DS: We saw several situations where the police intervened. In some areas, they tried to behave, but, at the end of the day, you’re sure where was it that the police harmed [the electoral process]. The police have to abstain, and help. But this does not mean that all the elements of the police are bad. There are some who are aware and have been able to, on their own initiative, stop some of the fooling around. However, there are still some corrupt police.

DW Africa: In this whole process, the opinion of international observers was hardly heard – it was diluted amid the denunciations made by civil society organisations and even ordinary citizens who were monitoring the process. What is your opinion of their performance?

DS: I usually say that international observers are still a drop in the ocean. For example, we had three [electoral observers] from the European Union here in Beira. What are three for a city like this, for the number of voters we have? It’s a drop in the ocean. They are talking about what they saw and what they did not see, but they are not in a position to observe. So it is no use having the observation of just three people. This, to me, is very far from what observation really means. Observation would be to have someone from an international body at every polling station to accurately report what happened. Now, if we have three for the amount of tables that we have, what do these three do? They do not do anything. I think the European Union could have invested in other areas, instead of sending people who are just there ‘for the Englishman to see’. So, no, they are not in a position to observe.

ALSO READ: Mozambique: Opposition parties to contest election results in 7 municipalities – report

Source: Deutsche Welle