MOZAMBIQUE FINAL REPORT General Elections
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MOZAMBIQUE FINAL REPORT General Elections 15 October 2014 EUROPEAN UNION ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION The information and views set out in this report do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the European Union. The report is available n English and Portuguese. Only the English language report should be taken as the official version. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. ! ! European Union Election Observation Mission Final Report General Elections – Mozambique 2014 ! Table of Contents ACRONYMS .................................................................................................................................. 3 I. SUMMARY ................................................................................................................................ 4 II. MISSION BACKGROUND ...................................................................................................... 8 III. POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT ................................................................................................ 9 a. The 2014 Elections .................................................................................................................. 9 b. Electoral History ................................................................................................................... 11 c. Key Actors ............................................................................................................................. 11 IV. LEGAL AND ELECTORAL FRAMEWORK ...................................................................... 12 a. Legal Framework ................................................................................................................... 12 b. Electoral Framework ............................................................................................................. 14 V. ELECTORAL ADMINISTRATION ....................................................................................... 15 a. Election Administration ......................................................................................................... 15 b. The Administration of Elections ........................................................................................... 16 c. Polling Stations and Ballots .................................................................................................. 18 d. Training of Polling Staff ....................................................................................................... 18 e. Accreditations ........................................................................................................................ 19 f. Voters´ and Civic Education .................................................................................................. 20 VI. REGISTRATION OF VOTERS AND CANDIDATES ........................................................ 21 a. Registration of Voters ............................................................................................................ 21 b. National Assembly and Provincial Assembly Mandates ...................................................... 22 c. Registration of Candidates .................................................................................................... 22 VII. LEGISLATIVE AND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS ........................................................ 23 a. Campaign ............................................................................................................................... 23 b. Election Day .......................................................................................................................... 24 VIII. CLOSING AND COUNTING ............................................................................................. 25 IX. TABULATION ....................................................................................................................... 25 Announcement of Results ......................................................................................................... 28 X. COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS ............................................................................................ 31 a. Legal procedures ................................................................................................................... 31 b. Complaints and Appeals ........................................................................................................ 32 XI. MEDIA ................................................................................................................................... 34 a. Legal Framework ................................................................................................................... 34 b. Electoral Coverage ................................................................................................................ 35 c. Media Monitoring .................................................................................................................. 36 XII. HUMAN RIGHTS AND CIVIL SOCIETY ......................................................................... 39 a. Human Rights ........................................................................................................................ 39 b. Civil Society .......................................................................................................................... 39 XIII. GENDER ............................................................................................................................. 40 XIV. COLLABORATION WITH OTHER EOMs ...................................................................... 41 XV. IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................... 42 XVI. RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................................... 43 2! ! European Union Election Observation Mission Final Report General Elections – Mozambique 2014 ! ACRONYMS ACHPR African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights ACHPR-PW Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa AJM Youth Association of Marracuene AP Provincial Assembly AR National Assembly AU African Union CC Constitutional Council CCM Christian Council of Mozambique CDE District election Commission CEDAW Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women CIP Center for Public Integrity CNE National Election Commission CPE Provincial Election Commission CO Chief Observer CPLP Community of Portuguese Language Countries CSCS Superior Council of Social Communication CSO Civil Society Organization CT Core Team DCO Deputy Chief Observer EISA Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa EMB Electoral Management Body EU EOM European Union Election Observation Mission ExM Exploratory Mission FRELIMO Mozambican Liberation Front GfK Group for Knowledge INE National Institute of Statistics LDH Human Rights League LTO Long Term Observer ICCPR International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICERD International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination MAV Polling Station MDM Democratic Movement of Mozambique NGO Non-governmental Organization OE Electoral Observatory ONP National Organization of Teachers PJ Youth Parliament PLASOC Civil Society Platform RENAMO National Resistance of Mozambique (RENAMO) STAE Technical Secretariat for Election Administration STO Short Term Observer UDHR Universal Declaration on Human Rights 3! ! European Union Election Observation Mission Final Report General Elections – Mozambique 2014 ! I. SUMMARY • The European Union (EU) deployed an Election Observation Mission (EOM), upon invitation from the Mozambican authorities, on 16 September 2014. In total, the EU EOM deployed 110 observers from 19 EU Member States, Canada, Norway and Switzerland, across the country to assess the whole electoral process against international obligations and commitments for democratic elections as well as the laws of Mozambique. • The EU EOM worked accordingly to the principles enshrined in the Declaration of Principles on International Election Observation, signed at the United Nations in October 2005. • The general elections of 2014 showed several positive aspects: a new electoral legislation supported by the main political parties, a non-disputed voter register, a generally peaceful electoral campaign, despite some localized acts of violence and political intolerance, and an orderly election day. • The new electoral legislation adopted in 2014 enhanced the inclusiveness of the electoral process by including representatives of the main political parties at all levels of the electoral administration, and improved the transparency of the process. Previous EU EOM recommendations, such as the new procedures for candidates’ registration, were incorporated in the new legislation. However, probably due to the celerity of the legal revision, some inconsistencies remained regarding the protection of the secrecy of the vote, the role of the scrutinizers at the polling stations, the system of complaints and appeals and the presence of observers at all levels and stages of the process. • The advantage of the ruling party over its adversaries through the use of material and human resources of the state resulted in an uneven playing field. In addition, the non- implementation, at the moment of the elections, of the disarming clause of the peace agreement between the National Resistance of Mozambique (RENAMO) and the government also bore an influence on the election