Mozambique approves revision of law that allows district courts to order recounts

On Tuesday, Mozambique’s parliament generally approved a specific version of the law on the elections of the President of the Republic and Deputies of the Assembly of the Republic, which gives district courts the power to order a recount of votes.

The revision of Law No. 8/2013 of February 27, approved today unanimously by the three parliamentary bodies, namely the Mozambican Liberation Front (Frelimo), the ruling party, and the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), the largest opposition force, and the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), the third parliamentary political force retains in the Constitutional Council (CC) the power to annul and order the repetition of elections.

We are talking about a debate that began after the sixth local elections in Mozambique, held last October, and which drew strong criticism from the opposition and civil society, which alleged fraud, with the CC, the highest body of electoral justice, recognizing some anomalies and the need for a review electoral legislation, especially in terms of clarifying the powers of the courts of first instance.

In their statement on Tuesday, the three parliamentary parties considered the clarification of the powers of district courts in relation to the Constitutional Court to be a “benefit”, noting, however, that a fundamental revision of the laws could not be carried out. still selective.

“What we did was a possible review to allow those aspects that caused irregularities in local elections to not again create doubts about how the various bodies should act,” said Feliz Silvia, a spokesman for the Frelimo panel.

“We urge that the little that has been achieved by consensus can remain, and in the development of this law, already with the approval of the specialty, the spirit that will guide this vote by consensus also prevails,” added Arnaldo Chalaua, Renamo deputy .

The law, revised by the Mozambican parliament, also tightened some penalties in case of irregularities during voting, and also redefined, among other things, the deadlines for the nomination of candidates for the post of president of the republic and deputies.

At the same session, Parliament also approved, in general and by consensus, a specific revision of the laws on the election of members of the provincial assembly and the provincial governor and on the principles, organizational norms, competence and functioning of provincial decentralized government bodies. Leaders.

“We understand that what has been changed will to a certain extent contribute to reasonable elections, but I repeat here that it is not the law that prevents transparent elections, it is a matter of who the people are, it is political and party interference that is happening,” Fernando said Bismarques, MDM deputy.

In Mozambique, general elections will be held on October 9, including presidential elections, in which the current president of the republic and leader of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo, the ruling party) Filipe Nyusi is no longer participating, as he has reached the two-term limit established by the Constitution.

The voting includes the legislature, provincial governors and the respective provincial assemblies.

Doubts about the powers of district courts arose when some district courts annulled the results of the October 11 vote in some municipalities due to irregularities raised by the opposition. newsletters.

The Association of Mozambican Judges (AMJ) said on Wednesday that district courts have the power to annul elections, demanding that Mozambique’s parliament clarify those powers before the next vote.