Frelimo downplays criticism of voter registration in Mozambique

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Frelimo downplays criticism of voter registration in Mozambique

1:31 CAT | 04 Jun 2019

Frelimo spokesman Caifadine Manasse . [File photo: O País]

Criticism of the voter registration process is “normal and habitual”, Frelimo (Mozambican Liberation Front – the ruling party in Mozambique,) spokesman Caifadine Manasse said, and “a constructive part of democracy”.

“We have a lot of critics, and sometimes they do not even go down on the ground to see what’s happening. For us, it’s normal. Criticism is habitual in our country,” the ruling party’s spokesman told a press conference in Maputo.

Voter registration for the October 15 general elections in Mozambique ended on May 30. By the 26th of the month, 73% of the total expected voters had been registered.

The Technical Secretary of Electoral Administration (STAE) set the registration of seven million voters as a goal for the operation, which began on April 15 and lasted 45 days.

The Action Development and Society (ADS), a Mozambican civil society organisation, yesterday accused the STAE of manipulation, and excluding some 700,000 voters in regions where the opposition normally achieves good electoral results.

The ADS said that the STAE had added more than 400,000 voters to the number forecast for southern Gaza province, which has always given victory to Frelimo.

Frelimo denies the allegations.

“These elections will be the most peaceful, because they come from an electoral package that was approved by consensus … and approved by parliament,” said Caifadine Manasse.

The Southern African Electoral Institute, another civil society organisation overseeing voter registration, advocated an audit of the voter registration process, noting that the operation was marked by irregularities.

The elections scheduled for October 15 – which are legislative, presidential and provincial – mark the end of the 2018/2019 electoral cycle, which began with the local elections of October 10 last year.

Source: Lusa