Mozambican activist Adriano Nuvunga accused National Electoral Commission (CNE) President Bishop Dom Carlos Matsinhe of “authorizing the death of democracy” and demanded his resignation.
“Bishop Carlos Matsinghe is doing to Mozambican democracy what Pilate did to the innocent Jesus: he authorized his death,” says Adriano Nuvunga, activist and director of the NGO Center for Democracy and Human Rights, in an open letter published this Sunday . .
We are talking about accusations of “mega-fraud” made by the opposition and civil society in the October 11 municipal elections, the results of which brought victory to the Mozambican Liberation Front (in Frelimo power) in 64 of Mozambique’s 65 municipalities.
The exception was Beira, where the Third Parliamentary Party, the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), won.
According to Adriano Nuvunga, Bishop Dom Carlos Matsinghe, who abstained from voting on the final results of the CNE, “legitimized a fraudulent process” and “betrayed” the trust placed in him by the people.
“Your silence and inaction, Don Carlos Matsinghe, sound like a tacit admission of corruption in the political sphere. When someone who is supposed to be a bastion of truth and justice fails in their mission, not only is the structure of integrity shaken, but the very fabric of our multi-party democracy is torn,” says Adriano Nuvunga.
The Mozambican activist also blames Carlos Matsinhe for the tension the country has been experiencing since the first results were announced, with the main opposition party (Renamo) holding protest marches that are now being suppressed by the police and, according to civil society, there are already deaths.
“The impact of this omission is not simply political or ideological: it already has a tangible and painful human cost (…) Bishop Carlos Matsinhe, as president of the CNE, denied truth and democracy. That’s why people are demanding his resignation,” concluded Adriano Nuvunga.
On October 11, Mozambique held its sixth local elections in 65 municipalities in the country, including 12 new municipalities that came to vote for the first time.
The main opposition party is holding marches across the country to challenge the October 11 election results, rallying thousands of people to denounce alleged “mega-fraud” on the ballot.
According to the Center for Public Integrity (CIP), a Mozambican election-monitoring non-governmental organization (NGO), a policeman and a young man died during demonstrations in Nampula and Nacale against local election results.
The deaths have not yet been confirmed by authorities, who have however acknowledged that at least 10 people were injured and another 70 were detained in the clashes.
According to Mozambique’s electoral laws, the election results must still be certified and declared by the Constitutional Council (CC), the highest judicial body.