The European Union Delegation issues the following statement in agreement with the EU Heads of Mission in Mozambique and the Heads of Mission of Iceland, Norway and Switzerland On the eve of voter registration for the presidential, legislative and provincial elections, the European Union recalls the importance of fair, transparent and inclusive electoral processes to ensure peace and democracy. With the results of the elections in all but one municipality confirmed, the European Union commends the Mozambican people who cast their vote to elect their mayors and municipal assemblies despite the tense atmosphere in some areas. A diplomatic watching exercise by the European Union, together with Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, gave important insights into the process which have been shared with the National Electoral Commission and with Government. The openness of electoral management bodies to this exercise and the efforts they made to increase transparency are appreciated. They generally responded well to the logistical challenge to organise these elections within a tight timeframe and in ten newly created municipalities. In this regard, a number of serious shortcomings have been highlighted such as the arbitrary arrest of party agents, the failure to accredit many national observers in Beira, the disappearance of tally sheets, some indications of double voting and attempted ballot stuffing, as well as interference with ballots resulting in their being declared spoilt. Effective appeal against irregularities and holding to account those responsible are important in ensuring the credibility of the elections. A key issue is the need to ensure the integrity of the process and the safety of voters for the forthcoming elections. In this regard, it is important to investigate the excessive use of force by the security forces which resulted in deaths and injuries in some municipalities and to hold those responsible to account. With general elections scheduled for 15 October 2014, the European Union renews its call for greater efforts to provide Mozambican citizens with transparency and credibility in the whole voting process and underlines the recommendations made by previous EU Election observation missions. All democratic political forces should recognise that political divergences must be resolved exclusively through dialogue and the ballot box, in a peaceful environment and in Parliament. The European Union will continue to stand by the Mozambican people to support the deepening of democracy. For more details visit the link:eeas.europa.eu/delegations/mozambique
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 09:30:31 +0000
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