Mozambique Elections: Attorney General dismisses request to annul election results

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Mozambique Elections: Attorney General dismisses request to annul election results

9:36 CAT | 09 Jan 2024

Mozambique’s Attorney General’s Office dismissed on Tuesday the request by the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) to annul the Constitutional Council’s ruling that validated the municipal elections of 11 October.

In a note distributed to the media today, the Attorney General’s Office said the “proposing entity that the request for intervention by the Attorney General’s Office is unfounded, due to a lack of legal grounds”.

“The position of the Public Prosecutor’s Office is due to the fact that the decisions of the Constitutional Council (CC) cannot be appealed by means of this appeal, contrary to what happens in the ordinary jurisdiction,” the Attorney General’s Office note said, in which it added that the law does not find “legal support for the possibility of challenging the decisions of this body by means of the appeal in question”.

An extraordinary appeal was submitted by the main opposition party in Mozambique to annul the Constitutional Council’s ruling that validated the 11 October ballot in Mozambique, although Renamo acknowledged that the Constitutional Council’s decisions are unappealable.

“The Constitutional Council’s rulings are unappealable if they don’t jeopardise fundamental rights. But when judgements do jeopardise fundamental rights, there are others that must take precedence. This is the basis of Renamo’s reasoning for cancelling this ruling,” declared Venâncio Mondlane, the party’s candidate for Maputo city council, in November.

The Constitutional Council is the body of last resort in electoral justice with the power to validate elections in Mozambique.

In addition to the request for intervention to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, during the same period, Renamo filed two criminal complaints against the police commander, Bernardino Rafael, and the president of Televisão de Moçambique, Élio Jonasse, accusing them of using disproportionate force and manipulating public opinion during the elections, respectively.

“With regard to the complaint against the commander-general of the PRM, Bernardino Rafael, the facts presented by the requesting entity were duly analysed, and a letter was issued clarifying the legal procedures that were being carried out with regard to the facts listed,” reads the PGR’s note, in which no further details are given and the complaint against Élio Jonasse is not mentioned.

In total, according to Venâncio Mondlane, Renamo submitted 14 letters against the results of the 11 October elections.

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The sixth municipal elections, in which the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) was declared the winner in 60 municipalities out of a total of 65, were strongly contested by the opposition, which did not recognise the official results, and by civil society, alleging “mega fraud”.

Since the announcement of the results by the National Electoral Commission (CNE), Renamo has led more than 50 protest marches, with some episodes culminating in skirmishes between party supporters and police forces, with some people being arrested and others injured.

Renamo claimed victory in the country’s largest cities, including Maputo, based on a parallel count using the original minutes and public notices, but was declared the winner in only four municipalities, half of those it had previously held, while the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), the third parliamentary political force, retained the municipality of Beira.

Source: Lusa