Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambique’s National Electoral Commission (CNE) finalised the delivery of all the notices and tabulation minutes of the local elections requested by the Constitutional Council on Wednesday morning but acknowledged that they would be “cross-referenced” with other documents.
“Everything has been delivered, in its entirety,” announced CNE spokesman Paulo Cuinica at a press conference yester day, emphasising that it would be up to the Constitutional Council (CC) to “decide on the validity or otherwise of the notices”.
“If there are incorrect notices, the CC will certainly find them,” he said.
On 15 November, the CC asked the CNE to hand over notices and minutes of polling stations in the towns of Matola and Matola-Rio (Maputo province), Nlhamankulu, Kampfumo and Ka Mavota (Maputo city), Alto Molócue and Maganja da Costa (Zambézia), Angoche and Ilha de Moçambique (Nampula), following the appeal lodged by the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) against the election results.
The following day, the CC Council called for Namaacha, Kamubukwana, Katembe (all three in Maputo), Chokwé (Gaza), Homoine (Inhambane), Murumbala, Milange (Zambézia), Moatize (Tete), Macanhelas, Insaca village, Milange, Mandimba (Niassa).
The CNE spokesman explained that the CC requested “the notices of the partial tabulation”, made at the polling station on 11 October, which “are always kept by the provincial commissions”.
“The CNE did the tally using the minutes and notices that they should use, which are from the intermediate tabulation that is done at the municipal level. These notices are sent to the CNE,” said Cuinica.
The spokesman insisted that the CNE was unaware of the existence of incorrect minutes or public notices but emphasised that the CC would be responsible for the assessment. “We have no information. We haven’t seen these incorrect minutes. What was requested by the CC was delivered. It will therefore be up to the CC to verify the authenticity or otherwise of these documents. And we believe that the CC will cross-check with other sources too, that not only the documents were delivered from the CNE. We are probably one of those who have been asked to submit documents.”
In addition to the CNE, the CC has requested the minutes and notices from the parties competing in the sixth local elections, with Renamo and the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM) publicly announcing that they have already handed them over.
“During the tallies, so the partial tally, which is done at the table, during the intermediate tally, done at the municipal level, and during the general tally, done at a CNE assembly, the political parties, observers and journalists are there, and the CC can request copies if it deems it necessary. So it’s no coincidence that these copies are distributed to all these organisations. It’s exactly for these issues,” emphasised Paulo Cuinica.
The streets of some Mozambican cities, including Maputo, have been taken over by consecutive demonstrations by the opposition against what they consider to have been a “mega-fraud” in the local elections process and the results announced by the CNE, which awarded victory to Frelimo in 64 of the 65 municipalities, also strongly criticised by civil society and non-governmental organisations.
In recent weeks there has been internal criticism of the workings of the CNE, particularly from leaders representing opposition parties, the electoral process and the tabulation of results.
“We can say that the atmosphere [within the CNE] is not good. If there are pronouncements, it means that the atmosphere is not good,” recognised Paulo Cuinica.
Renamo, the largest opposition party, which in the previous 53 municipalities (12 new municipalities were created this year) was leading in eight, was left without any municipalities, despite claiming victory in the country’s largest cities, based on the original minutes and notices of the polling stations, having appealed to the CC, the last instance of appeal in the electoral process.
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