The main opposition party, Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (Renamo), on Tuesday demanded the annulment of the voter registration held between April 20 and June 3, accusing Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Frelimo) of having manipulated the operation.
“In view of these serious irregularities, Renamo demands the annulment, an audit of the voter register, and the holding of a new voter register that is impartial and free of manipulation and vices in order to guarantee free, fair and transparent elections”, spokesman Jose Manteigas said at a press conference in Maputo.
The census preceded the municipal elections scheduled for October 11. “We call on all Mozambicans right now to join our struggle and voice, acting energetically against this attempt to kill democracy and perpetuate the dictatorship, because to accept this voter registration will be to accept electoral fraud and to mortgage our future”, he added.
Manteigas directly accused the ruling Frelimo party of promoting illegal registrations and blocking access to voter cards for numerous people who were lining up at posts in areas traditionally favorable to the opposition. “Unfortunately, Frelimo behaved, as always, against all the principles of democracy and peaceful political coexistence”, he summarized, accusing some directors of the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE), brigadistas and police officers of complicity.
According to Renamo, STAE acted “deliberately and at the behest of the Frelimo party,” creating “fewer voter registration posts in the areas of greatest opposition influence, particularly in the central and northern regions of the country, with the aim of registering fewer citizens.” “Under orders from Frelimo, ‘mobiles’ (sets of equipment for registration) were stolen, and those involved were either not identified or remain unpunished,” denounced José Manteigas, referring to several concrete cases witnessed by Renamo representatives.