Mozambique: It’s illegal to refuse prisoners the right to vote – ombudsman

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Mozambique: It’s illegal to refuse prisoners the right to vote – ombudsman

5:15 CAT | 22 Oct 2020

Photo. TVM

Mozambique’s ombudsman on Thursday said that it illegal to refuse prisoners the right to vote in the country, urging electoral bodies and prison services to put the conditions in place for inmates to exercise this right.

The ombudsman, Isaque Chande, made known his position on the matter in his annual report, submitted today to parliament.

“It is recommended that the president of the National Election Commission and the director general of the National Penitentiary Service take all the necessary measures to repair the illegality in the next elections,” Chande said.

He urged the government and the relevant authorities to ensure that can take part in voting processes.

Mozambique’s penal code, he continued, makes it very clear that sentencing someone to a higher prison sentence does not imply the loss of any of their civil, professional or political rights, nor does it deprive the convict of his or her fundamental rights, except for limitations imposed by law.

Parliament “establishes a list of sentences in the criminal sphere and, among them, there are no limitations in relation to the exercise of citizens’ political rights in general, much less limiting the right of prisoners to vote in penitentiary establishments,” he stressed.

He pointed out that Mozambique is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which stipulates that “every citizen has the right to vote”.

This principle was, he stressed, denied by the National Penitentiary Service (Sernap) when the ombudsman’s office raised the matter.

According to Chande, Sernap believes that “it is not possible to ensure that prisoners exercise their right to vote, because they are not at liberty.”

In this regard, the ombudsman emphasised that “voting is a civic right that allows citizens to participate actively in political life and to elect or be elected to political office” and there is nothing in Mozambique’s law that prevents prisoners from enjoying the right to vote.

The ombudsman ruled on this issue after a non-governmental organization filed a complaint against the exclusion of inmates from all elections held in Mozambique until now.

Source: Lusa