Mozambique: CIP calls on electoral bodies to act with impartiality
FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]
The question, “But who won?” dogs the sixth local elections in Mozambique, and the 40 days of uncertainty since October 11th are generating in the Mozambican capital a feeling of “injustice and frustration”, especially among the younger generation.
“I feel wronged as a citizen, because, when voting, I expected to see the results, but so far we are not seeing anything,” says 18-year-old Mércia Paulo, a student at Escola Secundária Josina Machel, who went to the polls for first time on October 11th.
Although the National Elections Commission (CNE) announced the official results on October 26, giving victory to the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) in 64 of the 65 municipalities, uncertainty has gripped Mozambican society, with the opposition and civil society organisations contesting the results and denouncing a “mega-fraud” in favour of the party in power in Mozambique since independence (1975).
On the streets of the Mozambican capital, 40 days after voting, doubts about the transparency of the process also exist, especially among the younger cohort, who now wait, clinging to the news and social media, for the verdict of the Constitutional Council, the highest body to which the various opposition appeals can be submitted.
For Mércia Paulo, who had her first experience of voting in these elections, the alleged manipulation and delay of electoral bodies may alienate some people from the electoral processes, but, according to her, there is also a youth group that is beginning to “awaken”, demanding new alternatives.
“This does dis-incentivise people, because we know that we can vote for other parties but there will be vote theft. But we won’t give up. We want a better Mozambique and the young people have now decided. We will continue to vote, they can steal, but we will continue to vote,” she explained.
Like Mércia, Mayda Macheque, 26 years old, admits she is frustrated with the delay in the process and, although it is not her first experience at the polls, she admits that these episodes taint the elections and could increase abstentions.
“I am frustrated, angry and nervous. I want the results,” the informal trader, who sells soft drinks amidst the hustle and bustle of the Museum public transport terminal in the centre of the Mozambican capital, told Lusa.
“We no longer want this thing about people stealing votes. At least I don’t want to anymore,” she adds, proposing that voting take place electronically so that the results are immediate and transparent.
Not far from Macheque’s stall, shoemaker Armando Henriques is also anxiously awaiting the answer to the question, “But who won?”.
“I am totally frustrated with this lack of response,” he says. “When the first data started to come out, I saw that Renamo [the main opposition force] was winning in some places (…), but I was worried when I saw that the places where Renamo was winning went to Frelimo. Is Frelimo so smart as to win everything?” asks the “honest shoemaker” of Ho Chi Minh Avenue, shining a customer’s shoes as he listens to the news on a small radio.
“But who won” is also the theme of a song by the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) which went viral, becoming the anthem of thousands of young supporters who have, since the first projections, taken to the streets to contest the results.
While they wait for an answer on the street, the Constitutional Council (CC) continues its evaluation in the capital, the body having already requested from the National Elections Commission voting notices from several municipalities across the country.
The streets of some Mozambican cities, including Maputo, have been taken over by consecutive opposition demonstrations of “repudiation” of the “mega-fraud” in the process.
Renamo, which in the previous 53 municipalities (12 new municipalities were created this year) led in eight, was left without any municipalities, despite, based on the minutes and original notices from polling stations, claiming victory in the country’s largest cities. It has appealed to the CC, the last instance of appeal in the electoral process.
Some district courts even recognized irregularities in the electoral process and ordered the repetition of several electoral stages, while street demonstrations contesting the announced results are regularly held.
In an interview with Lusa on November 10, electoral law expert Guilherme Mbilana argued that the high number of appeals in Mozambican local elections results from greater mastery of the law, and says that the time that the CC – the entity responsible for validating the election results – is taking is understandable given the pressure it is under.
“The number of appeals is much greater (…) Not only do they exceed the average in number, but also in complexity,” he explained.
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