Observers excluded from final vote count

Mozambique's National Elections Commission (CNE) on Tuesday said a decision to exclude election observers from the final vote tallies would not cast doubt over December's poll results. The CNE announced on Monday that international observer missions would be excluded from the final provincial and national poll count, sparking concern that the move could compromise the legitimacy of the general elections. However, CNE spokesman Filipe Mandlate told IRIN that the decision not to allow observers at the final ballot count was "in line with the electoral laws". "Both foreign and local election observers are aware that they have the right to observe all stages of the electoral process, as laid down in our electoral laws," Mandlate said. Observer missions could monitor the delivery of voting materials to voting stations, observe proceedings at the polling sites, and watch the vote count. "After the count, observers will be given a copy of the results. If they so wish, they can conduct a parallel counting system after they have received all the reports from voting stations across the country. But the observers will not be allowed to attend the meetings of the provincial and national electoral authorities; they will, however, have a copy of the minutes of those meetings," he explained. Mandlate pointed out that the same electoral laws had applied to the two previous polls, held in 1994 and 1999. But the Johannesburg-based Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) noted that the failure to allow observers to monitor all stages of the electoral process would "definitely reflect on the credibility of the poll". "Transparency is key when it comes to elections, especially in a country that has experienced armed conflict. If any part of the electoral process is hidden, it will automatically reflect on the legitimacy of the poll. In the 1999 election, one of the most serious concerns raised was the tabulation of the results," said Denis Kadima, executive director of the EISA. The 1999 ballot was marred by poor weather, fragile rural infrastructure and a complex vote counting system, and although the main opposition party, RENAMO, called for the election result to be nullified, claiming irregularities and vote rigging, the international community, by and large, judged the poll free and fair.