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Frelimo and Chissano win Mozambique Elections The announcement of the
preliminary results were delayed by several days due to technical problems as
well as irregularities detected during the lengthy vote-counting process. The National Electoral
Commission (CNE) finally broke its silence last night. The results from the
11 provinces show that Chissano won 52.22 percent while his main rival,
Afonso Dhlakama, is close behind with 47.78 percent. In the Parliamentary
elections, Frelimo is leading with 48.88 per cent of the votes while the
opposition coalition Renamo-Electoral Union is trailing with 38.55 percent. The remaining votes were
split among nine small parties which have failed to garner enough support to
secure any seats in the Assembly of the Nation. Mozambique’s complex
Proportional Representation system a party must obtain a minimum of five
percent of the total national vote to enter parliament. The results announced last
night by CNE are still preliminary. Due to logistical delays and
irregularities, the results for Nampula province, which were announced
Thursday, excluded the count for the district of Nacala-Porto. The results indicate that
Frelimo is likely to retain a working majority of eight to 12 seats in the
250-member Assembly, while the margin separating Chissano from Dhlakama,
currently stands at about 190,000 votes. Chissano has dismissed the
narrow margin of apparent victory, pointing out that compared to the 1994
presidential elections he had won more votes in 1999. He also pointed out
that his rival was endorsed by 13 other parties which had enhanced Dhlakama’s
support base while Chissano was running solely on a Frelimo ticket. CNE chairman Jamisse Taimo
said that CNE was still processing some 450,000 ballots which have either
been spoiled, contested or left blank, which could widen or narrow the gap
between the two contenders but are unlikely to bring any dramatic changes. CNE must verify all the
votes that were declared invalid at the polling stations and could reinstate
some of them. It must also rule on results from “problematic” polling
stations. These are cases where the polling station notices were rejected by
computers in the provincial election offices. The announcement has
discredited the claims by the opposition coalition that it had won the
elections. Renamo-Electoral Union has been claiming since Monday that it won
both the presidential and parliamentary elections and has called on the
ruling party to accept defeat. These opposition claims,
and the long silence of CNE, generated considerable confusion in diplomatic
and political circles here. SARDC has established that some representatives
of western diplomatic missions hastily telephoned Dhlakama to congratulate
him on his “victory” in the presidential elections. Frelimo has consistently
stated that by law only the CNE has the legal powers to supervise the
electoral process and declare the winners. Frelimo has accused its opponent
of waging a psychological war aimed at preparing its followers and some
sectors of international community to discredit the elections. Raul Domingos, widely
regarded as second to Dhlakama in the Renamo hierarchy, told a press
conference that the opposition coalition would not accept the results if the
outcome shows Frelimo and Chissano as winners. The vote counting has been
marred by a number of irregularities, despite initially positive responses to
the registration and campaign from international observers, most of whom have
left Mozambique. Foreign Minister Leonardo Simao yesterday told members of
the diplomatic corps in Maputo that police have uncovered a plot to introduce
444,000 false ballots in Niassa province. Similar incidents have also been
reported in Zambezia, Sofala, Manica and Nampula provinces The police is also
investigating the origins of 800,000 fake US dollars which are said to have
been used by Renamo to bribe polling agents. The final official results will be announced Sunday (SARDC) |
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[Elections '99 || Sustainable Democracy || SARDC] Mail Editorial for comments and queries. |
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