Mozambique Elections: Elections stained by falsification of results and ballot stuffing – AIM report

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Mozambique Elections: Elections stained by falsification of results and ballot stuffing – AIM report

6:40 CAT | 18 Oct 2024

Image: Mais Integridade

The Mais Integridade (More Integrity) Electoral Consortium, a civil society platform for election observation, claims that the presidential, parliamentary and provincial elections held on 9 October were stained by falsification of result sheets (“editais”) and ballot box stuffing.

According to Edson Cortez, representing the consortium at a Wednesday press conference, held in Maputo, the elections were characterized by fraud and the results that the electoral bodies are announcing are false.

“Once again, as a country, we held fraudulent elections. These results do not reflect, at least from what we have observed, the will of the voters. Given this scenario, it is very difficult for us, as a consortium, to come here and say that we carried out a count based on the ‘editais’. Most of the ‘editais’ fabricated and manipulated the results”, he said.

Cortez explained that in the northern province of Nampula, for example, the consortium observed that the voting count, at the polling stations, gave a significant advantage to Venâncio Mondlane, the presidential candidate backed by Podemos (Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique). However, the results announced by the electoral bodies give victory to Daniel Chapo, presidential candidate of the ruling Frelimo party.

What the observers saw being counted, and the results announced on the editais “are two completely different things”, he accused.

“What we are trying to say is that this year’s elections were full of fraud. The members of the polling station staff (MMVs) and delegates from Frelimo refused to sign the editais, and simply disappeared “, he added.

A detailed press release from the consortium noted a large number of cases of ballot box stuffing, and of voters caught in possession of ballot papers marked in advance.

Thus at polling station 08071-02, in Morrumbala district, in the central province of Zambezia, a neighbourhood secretary belonging to Frelimo was caught with 45 ballot papers marked in favour of Frelimo.

At polling station 822117-01 in Gile district, also in Zambezia, a monitor for Podemos seized 38 ballot papers marked in favour of Frelimo from the polling station chairperson before they could be slipped into the ballot box.

At station 090962-01 the head of the secretariat of the local branch of STAE (Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat) was caught with ten ballot papers marked in advance in favour of Frelimo.

At station 110158-01 in Mecanhelas district, Niassa province, the deputy chairperson of the station put six ballot papers, marked in advance on favour of Frelimo into the ballot box.

This is just a sample of the abuses spotted by the Mais Integridade observers. It is not yet known whether the electoral management bodies will take action to deal with any of them.

Among the many other electoral irregularities noted by Mais Integridade was the claim that certain districts had extraordinarily high turnouts. In an election where the average turnout was 43 per cent, Mais Integridade found 12 districts with turnouts of between 78 and 96 per cent, and where 80 per cent or more of the votes cast in these districts went to Frelimo.

Changara district, in Tete province, has been noted, election after election, for impossibly high turnouts. This time the claimed turnout was 92.52 per cent, and Frelimo presidential candidate Daniel Chapo took 96 per cent of these votes.

Zumbu, also in Tete, had a claimed turnout of 94.72 per cent, and Chicualacuala and Chigubo, in Gaza, alleged turnouts of 90.68 per cent and 96.25 per cent.

The Mais Integridade consortium consists of seven respected civil society bodies, namely the Episcopal Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Church, the anti-corruption NGO, the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), the Civil Society Learning and Training Centre (CESC), Solidarity Mozambique, the Forum of Mozambican Associations of the Disabled (FAMOD), the Nucleus of Zambezia Women’s Associations (NAFEZA), and the Mozambican chapter of the regional press freedom body, MISA (Media Institute of Southern Africa).

Source: AIM