STAE stopped a just training session
Frelimo will again illegally control many polling stations, giving it power to manipulate results. In many places trainers and polling station staff (MMVs) have simply been selected by Frelimo, which sent lists to STAE (Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat). In a token admission that this is happening, on Friday (18 September) national STAE in Maputo admitted the problem and cancelled the Quelimane training of trainers next week. Outside trainers will be used instead.
too late to cancel selection of trainers and MMVs for the 9 October election. This means many, perhaps most, polling station staff are again being selected and trained by Frelimo. This occurred in last year’s municipal election, and the law had to be changed to bar some of Frelimo’s tricks, notably delaying the count or the writing of the results sheets (editais) so that they results could be changed later in secret. But Frelimo trainers will explain how to bypass the new law.
How Frelimo took control
Each polling station has seven staff. The four most important – president (returning officer), vice president, secretary, and first scrutineer – must by law be non-partisan and chosen by public competition. One each of the remaining three, who cannot hold these top posts, is chosen by the parties in parliament – Frelimo, Renamo, and MDM.
But it became clear, even last year, that in many places, no one was selected without connections with Frelimo. Some were selected to be trainers and MMVs without even being interviewed. That means that in nearly all districts, the polling station is politicised, and of the seven MMVs, five are from Frelimo and only two are from the opposition.
These are paid posts and excluded candidates complained. This bulletin, CIP Eleições, investigated (see CIP Eleições 287, 294 and 295) and found that the open competition had been captured and replaced by Frelimo sending lists to district STAEs of teachers, school directors, nurses, and police whose jobs depend on being members of Frelimo. In nearly all districts, of the seven MMVs in a polling station, five will be from Frelimo and only two from the opposition.
The same has happened with trainers, who are also supposed to be non-partisan and selected by open competition, but are now named by Frelimo on lists sent to STAE. The Quelimane training session cancellation was the first and only recognition of this.
Last year, CIP Eleições reported that there was in circulation a printed booklet listing all Matola city MMVs and their Frelimo position. In a brazen show of power, Frelimo did not even try to keep it secret. (see Bulletin 145)
Comment: In early elections teachers were good MMVs, but not now
In the early multiparty elections 1994 and 1999 the choice of teachers to be senior polling station officials was a good idea. They were educated and had experience running classes, at a time when there were relatively few literate people for those jobs, and most did a good and neutral job. And it was accepted that teachers would have to miss two weeks of classes for training.
In the 1999 election staff were too neutral and Renamo’s Afonso Dhlaka probably won – and central STAE computer staff were sent to the provinces to change the results. Then President Armando Guebuza (2004-2013) politicised the civil service. Promotion and later most jobs required being in Frelimo. Education has been the worst, completely captured by party activists, who are forced to abandon schools not just for training, but in this election, compulsory participation in the Frelimo campaign. This is leading to closed and partially closed schools for most of September.
Partly because party loyalty overrides good teaching, education quality has fallen. Health is the one sector which has maintained a skilled and committed leadership and cadre, which has prevented the party takeover. (The full bulletin in pdf is on https://bit.ly/Moz-El-295)
