Mozambique election marred by irregularities – EU observers

Maputo – European Union observers criticised Mozambique’s hotly disputed October vote in its final report released Thursday, citing manipulation of results and indications of ballot box stuffing in favour of the ruling Frelimo party.

The October election was followed by weeks of unrest that claimed more than 300 lives as security forces cracked down on demonstrations called by the main opposition leader to support his claim that the ballot was rigged.

President Daniel Chapo from Frelimo, which has governed the gas-rich but impoverished nation for around 50 years, took office mid-January after the election authority said he won 65 percent of the vote.

The final report by the EU’s Election Observation Mission’s noted several irregularities in the election.

“Although the EU EOM did not observe systematic flaws during the voting process, the subsequent counting phase lacked in transparency and insufficient safeguards to ensure the integrity of the count,” it said.

“The tally process was cumbersome and inefficient, with EU observers reporting deliberate invalidation of opposition votes, instances of fraudulent alteration of polling results in favour of the ruling party, indications of ballot box stuffing, and cases of voters not found on the voter list of their polling station,” it said.

The mission “observed several instances of results manipulation conducted at district level,” it said, noting significant discrepancies in vote totals “always in favour of the ruling party”.

It also accused security forces of violently suppressing protests called by opposition leader Venancio Mondlane with “heavyhanded tactics”.

The report cited a toll from the local civil society group Electoral Platform Decide that as of mid-January, about 314 people had been shot dead in the post-election unrest, more than 630 wounded and more than 4,230 arrested.

Among its recommendations, the mission urged as a priority a review of the entire election administration to improve its integrity and impartiality.

Mondlane left Mozambique late October following the assassination of his lawyer and returned days before Chapo was sworn into office on January 15.

He has drawn large crowds in various public appearances since his return and said he has given the government three months to agree to various “preconditions” to secure his cooperation before he considers his next steps.