Concerns over the integrity of Mozambique’s recent elections have intensified as widespread irregularities in vote counting continue to draw scrutiny from the country’s highest electoral authority.
On Thursday, the public news agency AIM reported that Mozambique’s Constitutional Council, the top body for constitutional and electoral law, raised serious concerns about discrepancies in the counting of votes from the disputed October 9 presidential, parliamentary, and provincial elections.
The Council has demanded an explanation from the National Electoral Commission (CNE) within 72 hours.
In its preliminary report, submitted on October 24, the CNE acknowledged the existence of discrepancies, attributing them to a lack of time for thorough investigation before the official results deadline.
However, this explanation did not satisfy the Constitutional Council, which is now pressing for full clarity on the inconsistencies.
Lucia Ribeiro, the President of the Council, addressed the CNE in a formal letter, emphasizing the need for accountability and transparency in the electoral process.
The elections, held concurrently, involved each voter receiving three ballots – one for each election.
Each polling station had three separate boxes to collect these votes, with the expectation that the number of ballots would match across all three categories.
Reports indicate, however, significant discrepancies across various districts.
For example, in Govuro, 7,062 more votes were counted for the provincial assembly than for the presidential election.
Meanwhile, in Massinga, a staggering gap of 36,974 votes appeared, with parliamentary ballots outnumbering those for the provincial assembly—an anomaly for simultaneous elections.
Such unexplained irregularities have become a pressing challenge for the Constitutional Council, which could be forced to annul results from polling stations where counts do not align.
Carlos Matsinhe, President of the CNE and an Anglican bishop, has relayed Ribeiro’s request to the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration, the CNE’s executive branch.
The opposition has already rejected the election results, citing widespread irregularities, a claim that has sparked protests across the capital Maputo and other regions.
