Publications
Partners
- Brazen rigging has marred the Mozambican local authority elections.
- The court's nullification of some results shows the judiciary's independence so far.
- A leading political analyst says with Frelimo at its lowest, the opposition needs to produce a young, charismatic candidate to challenge for the presidency.
The recently held local authority elections in Mozambique present a preview of what is likely to happen next year when the country holds parliamentary and presidential elections, a political analyst has said.
On 11 October, Mozambique went to the polls to choose 65 local authority representatives in an election that saw the return of the former rebel group turned political party, Renamo.
Renamo and the ruling Frelimo have in the past been on two opposing sides in the country's civil war episodes since 1975.
When the disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration process formally put an end to the party's banditry activities in June this year, Renamo was reintegrated into society after 48 years.
But the elections did not turn out the way it hoped.
There were cases of rigging proven before the courts, casting doubt on the country's reputation as a democracy.
The director of the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights in Mozambique, Adriano Nuvunga, told News24 the local authority elections were conducted in a traditional way of always disadvantaging the opposition in Mozambique, and that would be the same next year.
"The elections were prepared in the same way the state always organises elections; to be rigged in favour of Frelimo, the voter registration was flawed. This made it difficult for opposition supporters to have access to registration centres.
READ | Mozambique's Renamo boycotts parliament in protest over alleged electoral fraud
"Frelimo used the police to intimidate voters, used polling clerks to do ballot box staffing, and manipulated the tally sheets," he said.
Nuvunga added the people voted against Frelimo despite the challenges to show they were unhappy with the government.
"It was not an issue for which party they wanted to vote for but the mere fact that they didn't want Frelimo.
"In Maputo's plush suburbs, where the ruling elite and the president dwell, Frelimo lost big. But they went on to rig the election."
In the Nhlamankulu District of Maputo, the technical secretariat for electoral administration, Sérgio Mucavele, was found guilty of producing fake polling station result sheets that handed Frelimo victory.
ALSO READ | Silencing the guns: Mozambique's Renamo integrated into society after 48 years
Renamo leader Ossufo Momade asserted his party had proof of winning in at least nine municipalities.
Maputo and its neighbouring cities, Matola, Nampula, Quelimane, Vilanculo, and Marracuene, are among them, as are a number of districts along the Nampula coast, including Nacala, Mozambique Island, and Angoche.
"People went out in the streets in their numbers to say 'no' to Frelimo. One thing that stood out, Nuvunga said, was the courts have not been captured.
"The courts have been nullifying the elections in Maputo and Matola; they ordered a vote recount. This is also happening in the heartland of Frelimo [Chokwe]," he said.
Nuvunga added the elections served as a sign to Frelimo that people had lost faith in it.
"It was a clear red card for Frelimo. People are tired.
"Frelimo is in its biggest crisis since independence. President Filipe Nyusi's divisive politics, government corruption, and bad policies have marked the beginning of the end."
Nuvunga said it was up to opposition political parties to take advantage of the Frelimo slump.
"It is up to the political parties to come up with a young and charismatic candidate to finish off Frelimo," he added.
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
