The full bulletin in pdf is on https://bit.ly/Moz-El-294
Nyusi and Momade confirm agreements to negotiate power after election frauds
Fraudulent election results are being negotiated in secret meetings between Frelimo and Renamo, their presidents, Filipe Nyusi and Ossufo Momade, have both confirmed. There had been growing rumours of a deal on municipal elections last year, and negotiations over the 9 October elections this year.
The first to reveal that the election results are being negotiated between the two parties was Ossufo Momade, president of Renamo, on 7 September during the first week of his election campaign, in Cabo Delgado. Ossufo stated: “When we go to the elections, they [referring to Frelimo] provoke frauds, and this time, in this year of 2024, if they provoke fraud, if they are not going to make an agreement with me, they will have to make an agreement with the Mozambican population”. And he added this time “I am not going to accept fraud, because we were not born to be in opposition, we also want to govern”.
Last week, Filipe Nyusi also confirmed, at a meeting in Vilankulo, the existence of negotiations after the Frelimo electoral frauds last year. In this meeting, Nyusi said: “we negotiated Vilankulo, but no more. Inhambane is not going to negotiate power”.
The statements by the two presidents are confessions of what had long been suspected, that Renamo and Frelimo have negotiated access to power. That is, Frelimo resorts to fraud to win the elections and forces Renamo to negotiate the allocation of some municipalities.
In last year’s municipal elections, Frelimo used fraud to win several municipalities where it had lost., including Maputo Ciity, Matola, Massinga, Vilankulo, Marromeu, Gurué, Quelimane, Alto Molócuè, Nampula, Cuamba and Chiure. Renamo contested this and was forced to negotiate secretly for the return of some municipalities. This negotiation led to the return to Renamo of the municipalities of Vilankulo, Quelimane, Alto Molócuè and Chiure.
Reasons why Frelimo rejected the courts and preferred CC
The negotiations of power after last year’s election frauds, the existence of which has been accepted by Filipe Nyusi and Ossufo Momade, explain Frelimo’s preference for the Constitutional Council (CC) and its refusal to grant the district courts the power to order recounts and even order new elections.
The Constitutional Council, with it Frelimo president and majority, has become an instrument for validating election frauds in favour of Frelimo. This forced Renamo into a negotiation for the attribution of some municipalities.
Parliament in April passed electoral law revisions which gave district counts the power to recounts and perhaps even order that elections be repeated. President Filipe Nyusi vetoed the law because Frelimo would lose the power to control the decision over fraud and thus the capacity to force Renamo into post-fraud negotiations.
After discussion in Parliament, and eventually a new negotiation, Renamo agreed that the courts would have little power over electoral decisions, but it claimed there were more gains than losses in the amended law. Frelimo gave way to Renamo in the majority of the amendments, some of which could reduce electoral fraud, but decisions are left with the CC.
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400 youths of OJM expect to be MMVs in Monapo
500 youths in Monapo district are undergoing training to become trainers of polling station staff (MMVs) for the elections scheduled for 9 October. Of this number, 400 will be selected to replicate the training throughout the district. Many are members of the Frelimo youth group, OJM.
Generally, on voting day all 400 trainers become paid polling station chairs (returning officers). Currently there is an obligatory contribution of 150 meticais for each OJM youth in Monapo to assist the Frelimo Party monitors during the elections.
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Chókwé registrar refuses to recognise documents of members of the youth parliament
The Youth Parliament, a Mozambican NGO, accuses the Chókwé registry office of refusing to authenticate the copies of identity documents they intend to submit to the electoral bodies to become observers of the 9 October elections. The chief registrar is accused of demanding a document which authorises members of the Youth Parliament to request recognition of documents needed to be observers. The registrar is also refusing to allow them to pay for authentication of the documents. The chair of the Youth Parliament, David Fardo, is talking with the chief registrar to unblock the situation.
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Public servants obliged to contribute $1000 to Frelimo in Maganja da Costa
Pressure continues on civil servants to support and promote Frelimo. Pio Augusto Matos, Zambézia governor and head of the Frelimo list and thus candidate for re-election, chaired a meeting Saturday (14 September) in a private room in the Pareirão complex in Maganja da Costa. The meeting was to remind school directors, heads of secretariats, heads of administrative posts, heads of localities, and heads of department, of the need to mobilise people to vote for Frelimo.
The Zambezia governor then instructed the Frelimo members to make a monetary contribution, with a minimum value of 100 meticais ($1.50) per participant to support the party. He announced a ten minute interval for the groups to organise themselves for their contribution. After ten minutes, everyone returned to the room to announce their contributions. In all, 68,300 meticais ($1067) were collected, distributed as follows:
Directors: 4,300 mt.
Heads of secretariats and departments: 1,100 MT.
Heads of posts and localities: 3,450 MT
Members of the Assembly and councillors: 800 MT
Provincial brigade: 1,500 MT
Governor’s brigade: 10,000 MT
Education directors: 2,650 MT
Executive Council: 31,000 MT
Other staff: 13,500 MT
Other news
Renamo members burn Frelimo flag. Alleged members of Renamo, in Vilankulo, in Inhambane province, burned, in public a Frelimo flag.
Public motorcycles fuelled. 19 motorcycles, mostly allocated to the Namaacha Municipal Council, and without any number plates, were refuelled during the weekend at the only petrol station in Namaacha town, Maputo province, for the reception of Frelimo presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo. Each motorcycle was supplied with about five litres of petrol.
Trainees from the Chicuque IFP obliged to participate in the campaign. The trainees from the Teacher Training Institute (IFP) of Chicuque, in Maxixe city, Inhambane, and of other private sector health training institutes, were obliged to interrupt their classes, to participate in the reception of the Honorary President of Frelimo, Joaquim Chissano.
Detention of a member of PODEMOS. On Sunday (15 September), in Tete city, a member of the Podemos party, which supports the candidacy of Venâncio Mondlane, was detained. He was accused of vandalising a Frelimo Party flag.