Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambique’s main opposition party, Renamo, is calling for postponement of the repeat elections in four municipalities (Marromeu, Nacala, Gurue and Milange) which the government has set for 10 December.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday at the door of the Attorney-General’s Office (PGR) in Maputo, the Renamo candidate for mayor of Maputo, Venancio Mondlane, said Renamo is submitting an injunction to delay the elections until the Constitutional Council, the country’s highest body in matters of constitutional and electoral law, has responded to a request for clarification on its ruling validating the municipal elections held on 11 October.
The Council proclaimed the ruling Frelimo Party the winner in 56 of the 65 municipalities, Renamo in four, and the second opposition party, the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) in one. The illegalities committed by electoral staff in the other four towns was so flagrant that the Council order a rerun of the elections in all or some of the polling stations.
But the Council did not explain its reasoning. And, although there can be no appeal against Council rulings, there is nothing to stop political parties asking for clarification.
“We’re submitting an injunction because elections can’t go ahead on 10 December while the Constitutional Council has not looked at Renamo’s request for clarification”, said Mondlane.
He thought that, only after a response from the Council, would it be possible to go ahead with the repeat elections on 10 December.
Furthermore, Renamo is planning what it calls an “extraordinary appeal” to annul the entire Council ruling validating the municipal elections. Mondlane said this appeal will be submitted to the PGR by Friday.
It could charitably be described as a long shot. The law is unambiguous – there can be no appeal, extraordinary or otherwise, against Constitutional Council decisions.
Renamo is also asking the PGR to initiate criminal proceedings against all seven judges of the Constitutional Council. It accuses the Council of overstepping its authority by annulling sentences passed by district courts. Mondlane claimed that only the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, has the power to overrule district courts.
“These seven people, who comprise the plenary of the Constitutional Council, must be held responsible for their acts”, said Mondlane. “They usurped the functions of parliament by invalidating without reason decisions taken by the courts”.
In several cases the courts had annulled the elections in some municipalities. The Constitutional Council overturned these decisions, claiming that only it had the power to annul elections.
Mondlane said that Renamo is also calling for the prosecution of members of the National Elections Commission (CNE), including its chairperson, Anglican bishop Carlos Matsinhe, and of officials of the CNE’s executive body, the Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE).
Some of Renamo’s concerns are shared by the Supreme Court, which strongly denied the claim that only the Constitutional Council can annul elections.
A spokesperson for the Supreme Court, Pedro Nhatitima, interviewed by the independent television station, STV, said the Council was mistaken
According to Nhatitima, “if we look at the electoral law, it says precisely that the district courts assess irregularities that occur during the campaign, the vote and the count. So it’s an open clause that comes from the law, and we must always bear in mind that we are courts. We are sovereign bodies. We’re not a mailbox that just sends files from one body to another. The function of a court is to decide.”
“If you think that this is the role of the court, to pass on files from one institution to another, because there is another body that is going to make a final decision, then we don’t think it’s worth occupying the courts with electoral matters at all”, he added.
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