"We cannot fail to express our deep repudiation of the way these elections have been organised and conducted", the Mozambican Bar Association said today. It cited "a prior conspiracy to falsify the results".

"We believe that the President of the National Electoral Commission and his entire team are not in a position to remain in office, after all this imbroglio that has been unleashed and which has met with so little satisfaction from society, not least because the will of the people and electoral transparency are not negotiable," the Bar Association statement concluded.

The bar association criticises its own judges in the lower courts. "Some courts have been imposing rigid formalities on the process of contesting elections, in some cases reversing the burden of proof. … In the event that the electoral body lacks credible documents on the electoral acts, they must grant the appeal. Electoral justice is one of the basic pillars of democracy, which is why we expect judicial decisions to be more effective."

The courts have played a central role in exposing the corruption of the elections and forcing recounts and new elections. The Bar Association today patted itself on the back, expressing its "satisfaction with the timely functioning of the judiciary in this ongoing municipal election process". This represents "a balanced exercise of powers and dissuades practices that could distort democracy and life in society".

It says that the court rulings are "a relief for the preservation of democracy and democratic institutions."

"The judiciary is the last stronghold of citizenship because, in addition to being the last to intervene, its decisions are binding and take precedence over those of other authorities, as enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique," says the Bar Association.