Mozambique’s National Electoral Commission (CNE) will notify municipalities of any political propaganda from the general elections on 9 October that has yet to be removed from public spaces, after the legal deadline for this has passed.
“The CNE will communicate this to the local councils, which are responsible for taking all measures to remove the material,” CNE spokesman Paulo Cuinica told Lusa on Friday.
A previous CNE resolution, to which Lusa had access today, based on electoral legislation, established that “with regard to graphic propaganda, it is mandatory to remove propaganda material, such as graphic inscriptions, inscriptions or paintings, within 90 days of the end of the campaign and electoral propaganda”, which was 6 October.
“Therefore, the National Electoral Commission urges all political parties, coalitions of political parties and groups of citizens to continue with the removal of said materials until 4 January 2025, the last day of the legally set deadline,” reads the resolution.
Despite this instruction, in general terms, electoral propaganda for the general elections on 9 October – presidential, legislative and provincial assemblies – continues to be displayed in the country’s public spaces.
Paulo Cuinica recalled that electoral legislation establishes that “in the event of non-compliance” with the removal of electoral propaganda, the CNE “communicates the fact to the entities of the decentralised provincial and district governing bodies, as well as the local authorities, for the appropriate purposes”.
In addition to electing its presidential candidate, Daniel Chapo, and all the country’s provincial governors, the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) won the elections to the Mozambican parliament with an absolute majority, ensuring it had 171 seats. Newcomer Podemos elected 43, dethroning Renamo as the opposition leader, according to the proclamation of the results on 23 December by the president of the Constitutional Council (CC), Lúcia Ribeiro.
Frelimo retains its parliamentary majority in the tenth parliamentary term. With 171 MPs (184 at present), it now has four parties represented, compared to the current three.
The Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos), which until now was non-parliamentary and supported Venâncio Mondlane’s presidential bid, came second, gaining status as the main opposition party, with 43 MPs.
According to the CC’s results, the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) lost its status as the largest opposition party. Its elected MPs were 28, down from the current 60.
The Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM) maintained its parliamentary representation with eight seats, two more than now.
The investiture of the 250 MPs is scheduled for 13 January. It precedes the inauguration of the new president of Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, set for 15 January, who was elected with 65.17% of the votes, succeeding Filipe Nyusi in office, according to the results proclaimed by the CC.
Lusa
