ELECTION PROTESTS IN MOZ SHOULD BE RESOLVED PEACEFULLY

ON October 9, 2024, the citizens of Mozambique went to the polls to elect a president, members of Parliament and provincial governors. These elections were the seventh Presidential and Legislative Elections to be held since the introduction of multiparty elections since 1994. Our neighbour, Mozambique, has been going though violent protest, following contested elections results. There are fears that Mozambique may return to the protracted conflict that undermined its development for many years. The violent protests have affected trade between Mozambique and neighbouring states, hence, the need to think aloud about the Mozambique election.

What are elections for?

Elections are about the people. It is about electing leaders that will address development challenges including the high levels of poverty, unemployment, conflicts, inequality, gender disparities, health crises and malnutrition to mention a few. Elections and other political processes are pivotal to the quality of a country’s governance. Elections can either greatly advance or set back a country’s long-term democratic development. The most fundamental principle defining credible elections is that they must reflect the free expression of the will of the people. To achieve this, elections should be transparent, inclusive and trusted by voters and those elected. 

There must be equitable opportunities to compete in the elections and genuine political competition.  These broad principles are enshrined in key obligations, rights and freedoms which derive from public international law. According to Britannica, election is the formal process of selecting a person for public office or of accepting or rejecting a political proposition by voting. It is important to distinguish between the form and the substance of elections. In some cases, electoral forms are present, but the substance of an election is missing, as when voters do not have a free and genuine choice between at least two alternatives. Most countries hold elections in at least the formal sense, but in many of them the elections are not competitive e.g. (all but one party may be forbidden to contest) or the electoral situation, is in other respects highly, compromised.

The Mozambique elections outcome

Various Observer Missions reported that the Mozambican elections were marred by widespread irregularities that raised questions about its legitimacy. There was an alleged lack of transparency in tabulation voter intimidation, there was alleged manipulation of the voter’s rolls, and discrepancies registered between the number of votes cast in different elections reveal a deeply flawed process, according to The International Republican Institutes Observer Mission. According to Aljazeera, the country’s Association of Catholic Bishops also rejected the election results, alleging cases of ballot stuffing and forged result sheets. Similarly, poll observers from the European Union said they noted ‘unjustified alteration’ of results at some polling stations.

The violent protest has resulted in at least 329 people who were allegedly shot, and children and bystanders are among the over 110 killed of Amnesty International said, while Human Rights Watch put the toll at 130. As alluded above, elections are about the will of the people. It is about people electing a government of their choice. Electoral processes should be trusted by the people. The Mozambicans, like many in Africa, aspire for a better life, especially the young people who have been at the centre of the violent protest.  The high levels of poverty and unemployment are at the centre of the elections contestation. Young people were hopeful that they will use their vote to elect a political party and leader that will do things differently.  Regrettably, the outcome of the elections was not what was expected by the disgruntled youth. They cited the weaknesses in the electoral process as having failed them. Hence, they rejected the outcome of the election. Yet, the Constitutional Court of Mozambique has endorsed the ruling Party and their Presidential candidate.   

Regional bodies

The African Union (AU) adopted a Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance to guide member states.  Regrettably, even with these guidelines, the crisis of post elections violence persists. It is critical that the African Union and Southern African Development Community (SADC) should step in and assist conflicted parties to resolve their differences for the sake of peace and development in Mozambique and the SADC Region as a whole. The SADC also has various mechanisms to address such crisis. Even though the SADC mission might have endorsed the elections, the post-election violence triggered SADC interventions to calm the situation. Now that the opposition leader has returned to Mozambique, it is critical that the parties engage in dialogue so that they find common ground for the sake of peace and development. It is regrettable that the opposition seem to be marginalised, yet there will be no peace without all political players committing to peaceful transfer of power.  It is critical that Mozambique politicians should be assisted to resolve their differences so that the country may return to peace.









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