Maputo — The NGO "Decide' Electoral Platform has refused to share its copies of polling station results sheets ("editais') and minutes from the 9 October general elections with the Constitutional Council, the highest body in matters of electoral law.
In a statement, addressed to Lúcia Ribeiro, chairperson of the Constitutional Council, the organization claims that it does not want "to legitimize electoral fraud.'
"The documents requested are notorious vehicles for legitimizing electoral fraud', it said. "During the elections, we noted significant problems, such as: voters whose names were listed as having already voted, making it impossible for them to exercise their right to vote; the swapping of electoral rolls, causing mass withdrawals and polling stations without ballot papers for the presidential election', reads the document.
This is not the first NGO that has declined to hand over results sheets and minutes to the Constitutional Council. Recently, the "Mais Integridade' (More Integrity) Electoral Consortium also refused to share its electoral documents, claiming that "the request of the Constitutional Council is contradictory, given that similar documents sent by the Consortium after the 2023 municipal elections were ignored by the same body.'
According to "Decide', the elections were stained by irregularities all the way from voter registration to the tabulation of results, "including the distribution of voter cards in clandestine locations, irregularities during the electoral campaign, manipulations on polling day and serious discrepancies in the figures released by the electoral bodies.'
The organization also says that political party monitors were barred from attending the count.
"There were cases of ballot boxes being stuffed and swapped, together with deficiencies in the lighting during the count, particularly in Cabo Delgado, Niassa and Sofala. The tabulation in several localities, in Nampula and Zambézia, took place without the obligatory presence of the representatives of the opposition parties', says the note.
"The same irregularities, which violated the principles of transparency, led to a repetition of 2023 municipal elections in Gurué district', adds the document.
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The organization believes that the Constitutional Council must be open to suggestions from NGOs in order to restore citizens' confidence in the integrity of the electoral system.
The request for copies of the results sheets and minutes from the Constitutional Council is taking place at the same time that the Council has been meeting political parties to discuss the elections before results are validated.
These meetings are unprecedented. Never before has the Council met with the leadership of opposition political parties, in front of the country's media.
