Mozambique: Elections Commission to discard equipment acquired 4 years ago – O País

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Mozambique: Elections Commission to discard equipment acquired 4 years ago – O País

1:39 CAT | 12 Aug 2022

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Sala da Paz]

The National Elections Commission (CNE) needs to acquire new equipment for the 2023 municipal elections, as that used previously is obsolete, O País reports.

Most of the equipment and software used in past elections is outdated, obliging the National Elections Commission to replace them, despite its budget deficit.

CNE spokesman Paulo Cuinica reported that a total of 500 mobile ID processors, a hundred vehicles and various software were indispensable for the holding of the forthcoming municipal elections and the preceding voter registration process.

Cuinica explained that equipment acquired for previous elections had become obsolete over time, including vehicles that were allocated to the provinces.

“The machines, because they were acquired between 2018 and 2019, need to be updated through the purchase of accessories. Provincial data processing centres are obsolete and need to be completely replaced, as does also the software used, in order to respond to the new requirements,” the CNE spokesperson explained.

Paulo Cuinica was speaking in Maputo province on Thursday (11-08), after the symbolic delivery of six vehicles, out of a total of 72 [which the CNE has this year acquired].

READ: Mozambique: CNE has acquired 72 more vehicles, to make electoral processes viable – RM report

Of the vehicles delivered on Thursday, three were allocated to Provincial Election Commissions and the other three to STAE, within the scope of the delivery of means enabling preparatory activities for the 2022-2025 electoral cycle.

Cuinica however acknowledged that this number was negligible compared to the real needs.

“We believe that, in the future, we will have more vehicles, to reinforce the existing ones, because they are not enough. It would be desirable for each CNE ‘vogal’ to have a car, but it will not be possible, as there are currently only three for 17 ‘vogais’, plus one member of the government,” he said.

Voter registration for the 2023 municipal elections will take place from the 20th of February to the 5th of April 2023, with a pilot registration process planned for later this year.

Meanwhile, the CNE budget deficit remains unresolved.

READ: Mozambique: CNE has 6% of the money needed for elections in 2023 and 2024

By Inalcídio Uamusse

Source: O País