Maputo — Mozambique's National Elections Commission (CNE) has claimed, quite wrongly, that political parties cannot do any campaigning outside the official election campaign that begins on 28 August.

At a Maputo press conference on Tuesday, the CNE spokesperson, Paulo Cuinica, complained that some parties (which he did not name) are not observing the period marked in law for the election campaign.

"We have seen, with some dissatisfaction and some sadness, that certain candidates and political organisations have already embarked on campaigning, asking for votes and presenting their election manifestos to citizens'.

He even claimed that using social media to present candidates, before the start of the official campaign, is illegal. "This is an election crime punishable under the law'. Cuinica thundered.

Cuinica's claim is entirely untrue. The law does not prevent any citizen from asking for votes on any day of the year.

Cuinica even asked for citizens to spy on the parties and denounce to the authorities any campaigning activities that take place prior to the official start of the campaign.

Reacting to Cuinica's statements, the anti-corruption NGO, the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), pointed out that his claims are in violation of the Mozambican constitution.

The official campaign period (running this year from 28 August to 6 October) was designed, not to take rights away from candidates and parties, but to give them additional rights during that period.

During the campaign period, parties have the right to political broadcasts, free of charge, on public television and radio. They have the right to use public buildings for their activities, and to hold marches and parades, and use sound systems without prior authorisation. They can flypost their propaganda in public spaces without restriction (although not on the walls of military or government buildings, or places of worship).

"The concept of an official election campaign can only give additional rights, and cannot take rights away', said CIP. "Indeed, political parties should always be campaigning, publicizing their ideas and recruiting members'.

This is allowed under the Constitution, and one of the failings of Mozambican opposition parties "is their failure to campaign and organise between elections'.

"The inability of the CNE to understand the Constitution and the electoral law is shocking', CIP concluded.