Same polling station staff will be used in Marromeu rerun

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Same polling station staff will be used in Marromeu rerun

6:51 CAT | 16 Nov 2018

In file CoM

The National Elections Commission (CNE) has decided to use exactly the same polling station staff in the rerun of the municipal election in the central Mozambican town of Marromeu as were on duty when massive irregularities invalidated the first election, held on 10 October.

The Constitutional Council, Mozambique’s highest body in matters of constitutional and electoral law, on Wednesday validated the results in 52 of the 53 municipalities. But it ruled that irregularities in eight out of the 39 polling stations in Marromeu were so serious as to call the result of the election into question.

Rioting had taken place at these polling stations, in which the police opened fire and injured at least four people. The police and members of the CNE’s executive wing, the Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE), took the ballot papers away from these stations before the count was completed.

The main opposition party, the former rebel movement Renamo said they had taken this opportunity to falsify the results sheets, turning what had been a Renamo victory into a victory for the ruling Frelimo Party.

The Constitutional Council on 26 October rejected a Renamo appeal against the Marromeu result because Renamo had submitted its appeal a day late, and had not made any objection at the polling stations where the irregularities occurred, or to the Marromeu District Elections Commission.

But the Council clearly believed that the substance of the Renamo complaint was accurate, since the eight polling stations where it has ordered new elections are exactly the same stations as those mentioned by Renamo in its appeal.

Speaking at a Maputo press conference on Thursday, the CNE spokesperson, Paulo Cuinica, said the same MMVs would be used in the rerun, but they would be strengthened by MMVs who had worked at other Marromeu stations.

“We hope we will find the same MMVs for those polling stations”, said Cuinica. “But because we want perfection, we shall also try to find, from the other stations, those MMVs who distinguished themselves in the last election”.

Under the law governing municipal elections, the new election must be held by the second Sunday after the Council’s decision – that is, by 25 November. The date is fixed by the Council of Ministers (Cabinet), on the proposal of the CNE.

Cuinica did not say what date the CNE has proposed, but it is thought to be Thursday 22 November.

No fresh campaigning by the political parties will be allowed, but Cuinica said renewed voter education would begin by Saturday at the latest. This voter education will be aimed at the 5,500 or so citizens registered at the eight polling stations. It will inform them of the Constitutional Council’s decision, and urge them to vote again.

Even while waiting for the formal announcement of the election date by the Council of Ministers, the CNE has begun to produce the material that will be needed, such as ballot papers.

The annulled Marromeu results gave victory to Frelimo by a narrow margin of 8,330 votes (47.13 per cent) to 7,810 (44.19 per cent) to Renamo. A clean rerun in the eight polling stations could easily reverse this result.

Source: AIM