Mozambican president Filipe Nyusi on Friday called on political actors to avoid inciting people to violence during the local elections on 11 October, reiterating calls for a peaceful ballot.
“We are faced [in electoral processes] with the abuse of fundamental freedoms. Citizens who don’t know what their limits and duties are are easily manipulated by people who want to achieve power,” said Filipe Nyusi.
Filipe Nyusi was speaking in the district of Kamavota, after inaugurating two judicial courts in the suburbs of the Mozambican capital.
The Mozambican head of state pointed to sticking one party’s election posters on top of opposition posters and destruction of electoral material and conflict between sympathisers as some of the problems tainting the polls in Mozambique, calling for political parties to respect electoral bodies.
“In the process of our democracy and decentralisation, let our elections be orderly and peaceful. We want to be a country that respects democratically elected institutions and where democracy is rooted in our political culture,” observed Filipe Nyusi.
The Mozambican president called on political parties to be guided by peace and good faith, avoiding violence during the current electoral campaign.
Political party activists should refrain from acts such as “obstructing the caravans of other parties and acts of confrontation” and report electoral offences to the judicial bodies, he said.
“The holding of elections is always a moment of celebration. I’m carrying the message of peace and harmony (…) in a country that needs peace, especially at this time when we have other opposing forces,” he added.
“The district courts [which are the first instance of electoral disputes], when passing judgement, must respect the principles of neutrality and transparency,” said the Mozambican head of state.
More than 11,500 candidates from 11 political parties, three coalitions of parties and eight citizens’ groups are campaigning for the Mozambican local elections on 11 October, amid calls for a peaceful process.
Mozambique is embarking on a new electoral cycle which, in addition to local elections next month, foresees general elections on 9 October 2024, in particular with the vote for the country’s new president, a position for which the current head of state, Filipe Nyusi, can no longer constitutionally run.
More than 8.7 million Mozambican voters are registered to vote in the sixth local elections, below the initial projection of 9.8 million voters, according to previous data from the national election commission (CNE).
Mozambican voters will choose 65 new mayors on 11 October, including in 12 new local councils, which join 53 existing ones.
Lusa
