Mozambique Elections: Self-proclaiming election victory is an electoral offence, says Justice Minister

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Mozambique Elections: Self-proclaiming election victory is an electoral offence, says Justice Minister

1:51 CAT | 15 Oct 2024

Photo: O País

The Minister of Justice, Helena Kida, said yesterday that presidential candidates who proclaim themselves winners of the elections are committing an electoral offence and may be held accountable by the courts.

While the results of the October 9 elections are being announced at the district and provincial level, there are candidates who are proclaiming themselves winners, based on parallel counts, which, for the Minister of Justice, is a crime.

“Unfortunately, we are already facing an offence. So, I think it is worth waiting, because whatever the results are, in the end, they will be announced. So, let’s leave it to the entities that have to play this role and are doing so, so that they can actually tell us what the result is,” Minister of Justice Helena Kida reasoned.

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Helena Kida has appealed for candidates to remain calm and let the competent institutions do their work, otherwise there is a risk of being held accountable.

“It is a whole process. So, there is a need to respect it, because, unfortunately, not respecting it can lead to liability. Let’s maintain this peace that characterises us, because Mozambicans are a peaceful people. So, let’s maintain this peace that characterises us, because Mozambicans are a peaceful people,” Minister Kida urged.

The chairman of the Mozambican Bar Association, Carlos Martins, said on the same occasion that the solution to avoiding unrest was for the electoral bodies to be more transparent.

Source: O País