Mozambique Elections: Podemos formalises fraud complaint with the Attorney General’s Office – Watch

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Mozambique Elections: Podemos formalises fraud complaint with the Attorney General’s Office – Watch

1:34 CAT | 05 Nov 2024

Screen grab: DW

Podemos, the Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique, the extra-parliamentary party that supports Venâncio Mondlane’s presidential candidacy in Mozambique, yesterday formalised a complaint with the Mozambican Attorney General’s Office (PGR) against the alleged fabrication of minutes and notices (actas and editais) by District Election Commissions.

The complaint was filed by Podemos spokesperson Dinis Tivane, who justified the decision with the “defence of transparency and electoral justice”.

The announcement by the National Electoral Commission (CNE) of Mozambique on 24 October, in which it attributed victory to Daniel Chapo, supported by the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo, the party in power since 1975) in the election for President of the Republic on 9 October, with 70.67% of the votes, sparked popular protests sponsored by Podemos.

According to the CNE, Venâncio Mondlane came second, with 20.32% of the vote, but he has said that he does not recognise these results, which still have to be validated and proclaimed by the Constitutional Council.

Frelimo also strengthened its parliamentary majority from 184 to 195 deputies (out of 250), and elected all 10 provincial governors of the country.

In chronological terms, following the announcement of the results by the CNE, the Constitutional Council on 30 October gave the Elections Commission eight day to send it the minutes and notices of the vote in Maputo city and in six other provinces, in order to validate the contested 9 October election results.

The demand by the Constitutional Council, which has the power of an electoral court in Mozambique, is contained in a warrant and certificate dated 30 October, to which Lusa has had access.

In addition to the minutes and notices of the partial count, carried out at the polling stations, and the same documentation produced by the district commissions in the city of Maputo, the Constitutional Council wants to receive the same data for the provinces of Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane, Tete, Zambézia and Nampula.

In a message posted on his Facebook page, Venâncio Mondlane said that the complaint aims to hold accountable unknown and suspected perpetrators identified in fraudulent acts related to the fabrication of new minutes and notices, a practice allegedly carried out by some District Election Commissions.

“The action, based on abundant evidence of irregularities, reflects Podemos’ commitment to protecting the will of the people, respecting the inalienable right of citizens to a free and fair electoral process. We believe that the truth cannot be manipulated and that justice must prevail over any attempt to sabotage the exercise of democracy,” Mondlane added.

When asked if he “believed in the PGR”, Dinis Tivane, replied that he “believes in the law, and not in people”.

Tivane said that Podemos had also filed a complaint with the Constitutional Council today.

“We understand that, since the Constitutional Council is a court, it cannot carry out acts that are not justified by the law. By giving eight days [to the CNE], it [the Constitutional Council] gives the impression that it wants to give [the CNE] time”. The Podemos spokesperson stressed that this period is not provided for by law.

Venâncio Mondlane wrote on Facebook that the complaint is proof that Podemos “reaffirms its fight for transparent elections, calling the competent authorities to account, so that they investigate quickly and impartially all the evidence presented”.

“The integrity of the electoral process and the trust of the Mozambican people in the democratic system are pillars that cannot be compromised,” he concluded.

In addition to Mondlane, Ossufo Momade, the president of the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo, the current largest opposition party) and another of the four presidential candidates, said that he does not recognize the election results announced by the CNE, and called for the vote to be annulled.

Presidential candidate Lutero Simango, supported by the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), also rejected the results, considering them to have been “forged in the secretariat”, and promised “political and legal action” to restore the “popular will”.

Venâncio Mondlane has repeatedly challenged the CNE to prove the results it announced, presenting the corresponding minutes and notices, and has called for a week of strikes and protests, culminating in a national demonstration in Maputo on 7 November.