Maputo — The registered electorate in several Mozambican municipalities, including large cities such as Maputo and Beira, has shrunk.

A comparison between the final results of the voter registration exercise held in the country's 53 municipalities between May and July and the registered electorate at the time of the last nationwide municipal elections, in 2008, shows that 11 municipalities have lost voters.

Thus the number of registered voters in Maputo has shrunk from 661,034 to 614,671 - a decline of over seven per cent.

In Beira, the fall in the registered electorate is from 230,720 to 205,802 - the city has thus lost a shocking 10.8 per cent of its electorate.

The other municipalities where the registered electorate has shrunk are:

Xai-Xai (capital of Gaza province) - from 66,551 to 62,305, a fall of 6.4 per cent;

Chibuto (also in Gaza) - from 27,910 to 26,693, a fall of 4.4 per cent;

Maxixe (the largest municipality in Inhambane province) - from 54,096 to 52,732, a fall of 2.5 per cent;

Dondo (Sofala province) - from 33,492 to 31,805, a fall of five per cent;

Quelimane (capital of Zambezia province) - from 110,013 to 105,887, a fall of 3.8 per cent;

Ribaue (Nampula province) - from 19,401 to 18,746, a fall of 3.4 per cent

Mozambique Island (also in Nampula) - from 28,578 to 25,331, a fall of 11.4 per cent;

Lichinga (capital of Niassa province) - from 73,184 to 72,102, a fall of 1.4 per cent;

Cuamba (Niassa) - from 40,356 to 33,933. This is the worst drop of all, of 15.9 per cent.

In all the remaining 32 towns and cities that held municipal status in 2008, the registered electorate has grown - in some cases very substantially. Thus the electorate in Gorongosa (Sofala) has more than doubled, rising from 7,091 in 2008 to 14,249 now, while in Ulongue (Tete) the number of voters has risen by over 77 per cent, from 10,831 to 19,224.

The decline of the registered electorate in 11 municipalities does not reflect any real demographic changes. In part, it is the result of the Mozambican system whereby the entire electorate is re-registered every five years. Some of those who held a voter card in 2008 may resent having to queue up for a new card.

But the decline may also result from the equipment failures that marked the start of the 2013 registration at many of the registration posts. Would-be voters came to the posts only to find that the computer or the printer was not working properly. How many of these people never returned later on, when the problems had been solved?

One result of these declines is that the size of municipal assemblies will change, since the number of seats in the assemblies depends on the size of the registered electorate.

Thus the Maputo assembly will shrink from 67 to 64 seats. The Beira assembly will lose one seat (dropping from 45 to 44), while the Cuamba assembly collapses from 31 to 21 seats.

Some of the assemblies where the registered electorate has risen substantially will see corresponding increases in their assemblies - thus the Moatize assembly, in Tete, will rise from 13 to 21 members, and that in Angoche (Nampula) from 21 to 31.

Pf/ (538)