The European Union Electoral Observation Mission (EU EOM) and the National Electoral Commission (CNE) stressed that, despite a few incidents, the voting process that took place on Wednesday 9 October as part of the seventh general elections was positive throughout the country.
Speaking at a press conference, the head of the EU EOM, Laura Ballarín, said that the electoral teams were committed throughout the country when polling stations opened, and that there were 179 European observers distributed throughout the provinces.
‘We verified the commitment of the polling station staff to ensure that the opening was carried out correctly. The mission also noted that the majority of polling stations opened with some delay due to a lack of material or some lack of organisation,’ he said.
She pointed out that there was ‘a calm atmosphere inside and outside the polling stations and a growing trend of potential voters queuing’. ‘So far, we haven’t recorded any major incidents, but in some cases we have observed that polling station staff seem to lack the technical knowledge to carry out the electoral process,’ she emphasised.
For his part, the spokesman for the National Electoral Commission (CNE), Paulo Cuinica, maintained that the voting material arrived in good time in most regions. ‘In the diaspora, we have to highlight the delay in Germany in terms of the arrival of material, which influenced the late opening of polling stations.’
‘In the province of Cabo Delgado, considered the most problematic due to terrorism, the polling stations opened on time, with the exception of three polling stations located in the district of Montepuez where, due to access difficulties, we had to use aerial means to place the material,’ he argued.
‘There were difficulties in Zambezia province, specifically in Maganja da Costa, Quelimane and Gilé. In Gaza, we started with problems at five tables, two of which ended up opening a little late,’ he explained.
Figures from the National Electoral Commission (CNE) indicate that more than 17 million voters were registered to vote, including 333,800 registered abroad.
Running for the Presidency of the Republic are Daniel Chapo, supported by the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), Ossufo Momade, supported by the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), Lutero Simango, for the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), and Venâncio Mondlane, a former Renamo member and MP, supported by the Optimist Party for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos), a movement without parliamentary representation.
