Mozambique: Presidential, Legislative, and Provincial Election Report
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EISA INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVER MISSION REPORT MOZAMBIQUE PRESIDENTIAL, LEGISLATIVE AND PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS 15 OCTOBER 2019 EISA INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVER MISSION REPORT No 60 14 Park Rd, Richmond Johannesburg 2092, South Africa P O Box 740 Auckland Park 2006 Johannesburg South Africa Tel: 27 11 381 6000-7 Fax: 27 11 482 6163 Email: [email protected] www.eisa.org This project was supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ISBN 978-1-920446-81-9 9 781920 446819 Order from: [email protected] EISA INTERNATIONAL ELECtion OBserVER Mission REPort NO 60 i EISA INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVER MISSION REPORT MOZAMBIQUE REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE PRESIDENTIAL, LEGISLATIVE AND PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS 15 OCTOBER 2019 ii EISA INTERNATIONAL ELECtion OBserVER Mission REPort NO 60 Published by EISA 14 Park Rd, Richmond Johannesburg South Africa P O Box 740 Auckland Park 2006 South Africa Tel: 27 11 381 6000 Fax: 27 11 482 6163 Email: [email protected] www.eisa.org ISBN: 978-1-920446-81-9 © EISA 2020 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of EISA. First published 2020 EISA strives for excellence in the promotion of credible elections, participatory democracy, human rights culture, and the strengthening of governance institutions for the consolidation of democracy in Africa. EISA Observer Mission Report, No. 60 EISA INTERNATIONAL ELECtion OBserVER Mission REPort NO 60 iii CONTENTS Acronyms and Abbreviations ..............................................................................v Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. vi Executive Summary ............................................................................................ vii EISA’s Approach to Election Observation ...................................................... xi Introduction ........................................................................................................ xiii 1. Historical and Political Overview of the 2019 General Elections ............1 1.1 Historical Background and Political Context ............................................................... 1 1.2 Political Negotiations and Peace Agreements............................................................... 4 1.3 Electoral Trends ................................................................................................................... 8 1.4 Political and Electoral Developments ahead of the 2019 Elections .......................10 2. The Legal and Institutional Framework ................................................... 12 2.1 The Constitution ..............................................................................................................12 2.2 The Electoral System .......................................................................................................17 2.3 Legal Reforms ahead of the October 2019 Presidential, Legislative and Provincial Elections ...................................................................................................19 2.4 Election Management: The National Electoral Commission ...................................23 2.5 Dispute Resolution Mechanisms: ..................................................................................28 2.6 Political Party and Campaign Finance ...........................................................................30 2.7 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................31 3. The Pre-Election Phase ............................................................................... 34 3.1 Voter Registration and Voters’ Roll ...................................................................................... 34 3.2 Political Party Registration and Candidate Nomination .................................................. 40 3.3 Civic and Voter Education ...................................................................................................... 43 3.4 Election Campaigns .................................................................................................................. 43 3.5 Preparedness of the EMB ....................................................................................................... 46 4. The Election Phase ........................................................................................ 49 4.1 Election Personnel ............................................................................................................49 4.2 Polling Stations and Election Materials .........................................................................50 4.3 Independent Observers, Monitors, Party Agents and Security Forces ..................51 4.4 Opening ...............................................................................................................................52 4.5 Voting Procedures and Secrecy of the Ballot .............................................................52 4.6 Closing and Counting.......................................................................................................53 5. The Post-Election Phase .............................................................................. 55 5.1 Results Aggregation .................................................................................................................. 55 5.2 Announcement of Final Results ............................................................................................ 56 5.3 Complaints and Appeals ......................................................................................................... 58 5.4 Post-Election Context ............................................................................................................. 59 iv EISA INTERNATIONAL ELECtion OBserVER Mission REPort NO 60 6. Cross-Cutting Issues ......................................................................................................... 60 6.1 Role of Civil Society .................................................................................................................. 60 6.2 Role of the Media ...................................................................................................................... 61 6.3 Gender and Minority Rights .................................................................................................... 63 6.4 Security ........................................................................................................................................ 65 7. Conclusion and Recommendations ............................................................. 67 7.1 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 67 7.2 Recommendations .................................................................................................................... 68 Annexures Annexure A: IEOM Group photo ..............................................................................................71 Annexure B: LTO Pre-Election Deployment Plan ..................................................................72 LTO Election Day Deployment Plan ..................................................................74 Annexure C: LTO Pre-Election Deployment Map ..................................................................76 LTO and STO Election Day Deployment Map ................................................77 Annexure D: IEOM Training and Briefing Programme ...........................................................78 STO Briefing programme .....................................................................................78 LTO Briefing programme .....................................................................................80 Annexure E: Arrival Statement ..................................................................................................82 Annexure F: Preliminary Statement ..........................................................................................84 Annexure G: Statement on the Death of Mr. Anastácio Matavel ........................................96 Annexure H: Security Incidents Reported ................................................................................98 About EISA: .................................................................................................................................103 EISA INTERNATIONAL ELECtion OBserVER Mission REPort NO 60 v ACRONYMS AND AbbReviaTIONS AU African Union AR Assembly of the Republic CAD Coligacão Aliança Democrática CC Constitutional Council CNE National Electoral Commission CRM Constitution of the Republic of Mozambique CSO Civil Society Organisation EISA Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa EMB Electoral Management Body1 EU European Union FRELIMO Front for the Liberation of Mozambique GPA General Peace Agreement IEOM International Election Observation Mission LTO Long Term Observer MDM Mozambique Democratic Movement MISA Media Institute for Southern Africa PAs Provincial Assemblies PRM Mozambique Republic Police RENAMO Mozambique National Resistance SADC Southern African Development Community STAE Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration STO Short Term Observer TAM Technical Assessment Mission TVM Mozambique Television UNDP United Nations Development