The Centre for Public Integrity (CIP), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), accused the Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) this Monday, November 25, of ‘selective action’ in bringing criminal cases for electoral offences and acts related to the October 9 elections.
‘In the current electoral process, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has often acted selectively, in violation of the principle of legality to which it is bound by the Constitution of the Republic,’ reads a CIP article sent to the media.
According to the organisation, in the current electoral process, the electoral management bodies, made up of the National Electoral Commission (CNE) and the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE), have acted in an ‘erratic’ way, which is ‘seriously compromising’ the truth and fairness of the process.
‘If the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Mozambique is supposed to act in accordance with the principle or criterion of legality, the specific facts show otherwise. In the current electoral process, the MP has acted in a way that has all the elements to be bound by the principle of expediency, which is alien to the exercise of criminal action,’ CIP reiterates.
For the NGO, this action ‘substantiates the lack of impartiality of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and exacerbates the bad perception that society has of the organs of administration of justice, because it considers them to be politically aligned with the Frelimo party, in power since 1975.’
‘It’s important that the Public Prosecutor’s Office also investigates and sanctions all the cases that occurred during the current electoral process, without any value judgement. The law does not give this body the possibility of evaluating the cases that come to its attention,’ emphasises CIP.
On Friday (22), the Public Prosecutor’s Office demanded compensation of 32 million meticals for the damage caused by the demonstrations in Maputo province in recent weeks, in a new case against presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane and Podemos, the party that supports him.
This is the second civil suit of its kind in a few days, after one that was filed, also by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, in the Maputo City Judicial Court (TJCM), in this case only for damages in the capital city, asking for compensation of 32.37 million meticals.
The head of state, Filipe Nyusi, has invited the presidential candidates for the 9 October general elections to a meeting on 26 November to ‘discuss the country’s situation in the post-election period.’
The meeting will take place at the Mozambican President’s office in Maputo on Tuesday (26) at 4pm and the candidates Daniel Chapo, Venâncio Mondlane, Lutero Simango and Ossufo Momade have been invited, the latter three not recognising the results announced by the CNE.
Venâncio Mondlane, Ossufo Momade and Lutero Simango have confirmed their willingness to take part in the meeting, but, among other demands, they want a clear agenda for the meeting, while Daniel Chapo has only said that he will be present, without any requirements.
