Rain has disrupted registration across the country, and heavy cloud means that solar panels are not working well. This is because Mozambique has 14 different law governing elections, plus constitutional clauses. Delays in parliament changing the law forced the 15 March start of registration.

The problem dates back to 2010, when donors had more power. After the 2009 election, the Constitutional Council demanded the laws be merged into a single election code. Government and civil society agreed. But bilateral donors did not, and withheld funds for three months to successfully force government to ignore the Constitutional Council. So the package of 14 sometimes contradictory laws remains. But donors have stopped funding an electoral mess they partly created.