Mozambique: Three days before the end of the census, and stations record low turnout

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Mozambique: Three days before the end of the census, and stations record low turnout

12:23 CAT | 26 Feb 2025

File photo: Noticias

With just three days left until the end of the military census campaign, some posts visited by ‘Notícias’ on Monday in the city of Maputo continue to record low turnout, even among reports of brigades reportedly reaching their targets.

At the registration post in Munhuana neighborhood, Nlhamankulu municipal district, there were only the census takers, one of whom identified herself as Inácia Nhamire. She said there had been no flow of young people since the beginning of the process and, to solve the problem, the agents were campaigning door to door.

She also said many young people were afraid to approach the registration post because they feared being recruited into military service. She said it should be made clear to citizens that registering does not mean joining the army.

By 12:30 p.m., when our reporting team left, only two young people had been registered. At the post set up in the Maxaquene ‘B’ neighbourhood office, a census taker registering two young people refused to speak to our reporting team because she was supposedly not authorized to do so. “I can’t talk. The only person authorized to give a statement to the press is my boss,” he explained.

Approached moments after registering, 19-year-old Maxaquene ‘C’ resident Arone Chirindza said he had not had any problems, and the post was very quiet, he being one of just two young people who were there.

Regarding the one-year delay, he said he had a distraction and when he woke up the process had already ended.

In turn, Shelton Fernando, 19, stated that he was only registering in order to obtain the declaration required to apply for a job and enrol in a driving school. “I am registering because the declaration is a requirement for the matters I intend to address. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t do it because I don’t want to join the army,” he said.

At the registration post located in the Alto Maé neighborhood, KaMpfumu district, the scenario was the opposite. The reporting team was received by the census taker named Fernando Patrício, who said that the goal of registering 400 young people had already been reached.

“We are filling out a new list because we have reached our goal. It wasn’t easy; we had to go door to door and share messages on social media to encourage young people to join the campaign,” he explained, sharing that by the end of the morning of the same day, 15 citizens had already been registered, the majority of whom were female.

He appealed to those who have not yet regularized their military status to do so within the time remaining – that is, by this Friday, February 28.

The census post at the Magoanine ‘A’ neighborhood office in KaMubukwana district was closed and the place under police guard due to threats from the demonstrations that took place early in the morning.

“They opened, but then they were forced to close because there was confusion. That’s why we’re here – to protect the place from protesters,” said a PRM agent who did not wish to give his name.

Source: Noticias