This Monday, the European Union highlighted the “irregularities” in the process of the sixth local elections in Mozambique, held on October 11 and drawing strong criticism from opposition parties and civil society, calling for “legislative improvements”.
The position is expressed in the joint communiqué of the 34th session of the Political Dialogue between the Government of Mozambique and the European Union (EU), held this Monday in Maputo, in which the executive, among other things, “made a detailed description of the phase of the process, from voter registration to confirmation and announcement results.”
“The Government thanked the European Union for supporting the electoral process in Mozambique. The European Union noted some irregularities throughout the electoral process and called on the Mozambican authorities and society to commit to making the necessary legislative improvements, which was immediately acknowledged in the Council decision. The current Constitution is dated November 24, 2023,” the joint statement said.
At this session, the Mozambican delegation was led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Veronica Macamo, and the EU delegation was led by the Ambassador to Maputo, Antonino Maggiore, accompanied by the Ambassadors of Finland, Sweden, Spain, Italy, and Portugal. , Ireland and Germany, as well as the chargé d’affaires of France and the Netherlands, as well as the heads of the diplomatic bureaus of Belgium and Austria.
This 34th meeting was the last one held within the framework of the Cotonou Agreement under the motto “Mozambique and the European Union: consolidated political dialogue elevated to the level of partnership dialogue”.
“With the signing of the Samoa Agreement on November 15 between the member countries of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACP) and the European Union, the political dialogue has evolved into a partnership dialogue,” he recalls in his statement.
On November 24, Mozambique’s Constitutional Council (CC) highlighted the “fragility” of the country’s electoral administration, calling for “deep reflection” on the role of electoral bodies.
“The Constitutional Council understands that there is a need for a deep understanding of the role of election commissions and technical secretariats of the election administration, since the above-mentioned dichotomy has demonstrated the fragility of control over the election administration system,” said the chairman of the Constitutional Council. , Lucia Ribeiro reads the resolution announcing the results of the local elections.
He also questioned the role of district election commissions in the interim count of local election results, since the law obliges them to act through the secretariats of technical election administrations: “The role of election commissions is being questioned here. Will it be simple? an assistant and subsequently signing protocols and notifications about the interim centralization carried out by STAE [Secretariado Técnico de Administração Eleitoral]”.
Competition between two electoral bodies performing the same functions, with the “overshadowing” of district commissions, creates confusion and complicates the electoral process, say the ruling circles.
The Constitutional Court also considers regional-level electoral bodies to be irrelevant because they are “couriers” of work carried out at the district level, which “harms procedural speed and causes conflicts.”
“It is important to clarify the role of the different electoral bodies in local elections, since the results of local elections are known through interim vote counts carried out by district or city commissions,” said Lucia Ribeiro.
The Central Committee of Mozambique declared the Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo), the ruling party, as the winner of the October 11 municipal elections in 56 municipalities against the previous 64, with the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) winning four, and ordered a repeat election of the four, but the vote took place that Sunday.
On October 26, the CNE, after conducting an interim and general vote count, declared Frelimo’s victory in 64 of the 65 municipalities that took part in the vote.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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