International observers praise election

International observers have praised the way Mozambique's presidential and parliamentary elections were conducted last week, but expressed concern at a turnout markedly lower than in previous years. Early unofficial results indicated a decisive victory for FRELIMO, the former liberation movement that has been in power since independence in 1975, reversing the trend of increased support in previous polls for its arch rival, the former rebel group, RENAMO. Missions representing the Carter Center, the Commonwealth, the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA), the European Parliament, the European Union, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Parliamentary Forum presented their preliminary findings at the weekend, following voting on Wednesday and Thursday. All of them applauded the professionalism of polling station staff, a secure and transparent voting process, and the balanced coverage in government and private media. They also noted that despite some incidents of violence and intimidation early in the campaign, the latter part of the campaign and the poll itself were conducted peacefully. Prior to the vote, monitors had been concerned that they did not have guaranteed access to the final stages of the vote tabulation process, in which contested ballots could be reconsidered, and the results of whole polling stations could be rejected by the National Electoral Commission (CNE) if they were deemed to be irregular. "The Center encourages election officials to ensure every effort will be made to enable transparency in the official results process," the Carter Center statement read. "It is important that there are justified reasons for the invalidation of any ballots or tally sheets." All the delegations expressed regret that 37 polling stations had failed to open as a result of heavy rains. The SADC parliamentarians suggested that Mozambique simply ensure that future elections be held during the dry season. Observers also noted the low turnout, thought to be less than 50 percent of eligible voters. "CNE, political parties, civil society organisations should seriously consider embarking on continuous civic and voter education, with the view to attracting the highest possible number of voters in future elections," the SADC parliamentary group recommended. Several delegations suggested that Mozambique reconsider the composition of the CNE, which currently comprises a FRELIMO-appointed majority, a RENAMO-appointed minority, and one representative each from government and civil society. This led to repeated accusations during the campaign, particularly from RENAMO, that the CNE was biased. "Whilst initially, political party composition within the CNE was a necessary move, aimed at ensuring inclusiveness in a society polarised by decades of war, this arrangement has by now served its purpose," the EISA mission stated. "The bipartisan composition of the CNE, combined with the unbalanced representation of the political parties, has created the position that the commission lacks independence from the governing party." Unofficial results broadcast by Radio Mozambique gave FRELIMO's Armando Guebuza a clear lead over RENAMO's Afonso Dhlakama in the presidential vote. On Sunday, Guebuza's votes reached more than 1.1 million, compared with 627,242 for his main challenger. The results were an aggregate of individual polling station results collected by Radio Mozambique journalists around the country. According to the Mozambique Political Process Bulletin, "although the gap between the two is closing slightly as more remote polling stations are reported, the difference is now too large to bridge. Not included in the count so far are more remote rural areas in several provinces, including Tete, which may favour RENAMO, but also many polling stations in the FRELIMO strongholds of Maputo city and province". Results from Mozambique's 10 provinces are due to be delivered to the CNE in the capital, Maputo, by Tuesday.