Elections: call prohibited

According to the National Elections Commission (CNE), all members of polling stations may not carry mobile phones or other material subject to distrust in the polling stations during the voting process in the next 15 October corrente.De according to general director Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration, Filisberto Naife, this decision is to ensure transparency in the voting and tabulation of the partial results process. Naife stressed that the only one who can carry the phone is the president of the polling station or his deputy to be able to communicate with STAE, but must be in the presence of more members. "The chairman of the polling station or the replacement table can only use the phone to communicate with the STAE in the presence of more members of the polling table," he said. Regarding preparations for the elections, Naife said 15 helicopters are now available for distribution of voting materials in areas of difficult access, as well as respond to any emergencies. In total there are 17,010 polling stations. To your knowledge, contrary to the mandates of the Assembly, which are fixed (250), the terms for provincial assemblies are determined by intervals of registered voters in each province according to the following table.

Province		Voters		Legal Law	Mandates
Códe	Name	Published	Final
01	Niassa	602.921	615.065	600.000 < x < 700.000	80	80
02	C.Delgado	939.622	964.071	x ˃ 700.000	82	82
03	Nampula	2.090.023	2.079.129	x ˃700.000	93	93
04	Zambézia	1.871.146	1.948.859	x ˃ 700.000	91	92
05	Tete	940.758	971.644	x ˃ 700.000	82	82
06	Manica	705.129	712.938	X  ˃ 700.000	80	80
07	Sofala	925.903	926.746	x ˃ 700.000	82	82
08	Inhambane	597.910	598.276	500.000 < x < 600.000	70	70
09	Gaza	571.832	591.194	500.000 < x < 600.000	70	70
10	M.Província	746.458	757.594	X˃ 700.000	80	80
11	M. Cidade a)	705.543	708.812
	Total	10.697.245	10.874.328	___	810	811

a)Maputo City does not compete for the provincial assemblies

Overt threats of electoral fraud

The Center for Public Integrity (CIP) and the Mechanism of Civil Society Support (MASC) organized on the morning of Tuesday, in Maputo, a roundtable to discuss the current challenges of the electoral process in the country. The event was attended by representatives of various entities with an interest in the electoral process, including the National Elections Commission (CNE), Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE), the Mozambican civil society organizations ambassadors and other diplomats, representatives of parties politicians and citizens in general. The roundtable consisted of the presentation of specific topics, all linked to the electoral process and discussion followed. The main speakers were: Luis de Brito, director of IESE, João Pereira, director of MASC, Adriano Nuvunga, director of CIP. There were also presentations from the Rev. Anastasius Chembeze, Director of the Electoral Observatory and Fernando Lima, journalist and director of the newspaper Savana.

Violence and loss of ballots in the spotlight .Cuinica Paul focused his presentation on electoral violence that was assisted during the election campaign and that is the concern of civil society, fearing a repeat of the election day and post-election period. That CNE member stressed that the representative body is also the same concern and therefore appealed to all Mozambicans, especially the political actors, contribute to that violence will not smear the process. For that spoke of the need to avoid negative messages from the competing parties and personality because they lead their followers to act violently. However, those present at the meeting demanded explanation from the CNE on the loss of ballot papers of the rented truck to transport materials to the province of Zambezia. Cuinica replied that it was a failure on safety by the driver of the vehicle and police officers specified for the trim material, that are held. Cuinica stressed that the theft of the material raised the issue of security of election materials as a major challenge that the CNE should handle. Participants wanted to also hear the pronouncement of the CNE on the actions of the police, which is clearly partial to Paul Cuinica explained that there is a Code of conduct for members of the PRM which was released at all levels, including in police stations, so the performance of PRM which tends to favor the party in power does not result from ignorance of their obligations.

The presentation of the Rev. Anastasius Chembeze, Director of the Electoral Observatory (OE), highlight points for abrupt change in the methodology of work of this organization. Hitherto the OE stood by the parallel counting of votes followed by public disclosure of the results reported by observers. In these elections, the OE will make public the results of the parallel count as Anastasius revealed Chembeze. Anastacio Chembeze said there was back in the decision, so it would be well in this process. Also acknowledged, when questioned by one of the present, there has been agreement between the OE and the CNE, ensuring that there would be no publication of results of the parallel count. The information was received with surprise and concern by those present. In fact the parallel count is the only activity that justifies major investment in the organization, but when this count is not followed by the dissemination of results to the public is emptied. The parallel count, frize, it's a key to prevent voter fraud because it puts citizens abreast of results during the clearance and allows comparison of the official results that are slow and usually arrive and the results of independent observers element. The end of the dissemination of the results of the parallel count represents major setback in the transparency of the electoral process borrowed the participation of civil society, consider the participants. The OE is financed by donor funds. This election will have observers in 2500 and at least 1200 tables, announced Chembeze. Elections in the context of race for resources and the breakdown of political polarization A study that focuses on the analysis of fundamental issues of general elections in the country this, commissioned by the Open Society Fundations, was presented during the roundtable by João Pereira, one of the authors. In his presentation John Pereira highlighted the context in which the elections take place, which he is running for the sharing of natural resources of the country. Equally, highlighted the tendency to break the polarization of the political scene in the country, with the arrival on the scene of Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM), which altered the trend of reduced competition between the Rhine and the Frelimo. Pereira also addressed the issue of military hostilities, although they have formally ceased materially they still exist and it is in this context that the elections will take place. These points were brought in order to discuss to what extent military hostilities may influence election outcomes by changing the will of the voters, coupled with the return to the politicization of the electoral administration bodies, particularly the CNE, which currently represents the most interests of the major parties than Mozambicans in general.

In his presentation, the Director of the Center for Public Integrity, Adriano Nuvunga focused on the weaknesses of the process windows that open to the occurrence of electoral fraud. Based on the experience of previous elections, Nuvunga warned of risk of alteration of the notices of partial discharge, which takes place in the dead of night, in the district the electoral administration bodies; spoke of deliberate invalidation of ballots by placing ink, nullifying the votes of the opposition candidates. "Although the law was changed to prohibit the existence of markers and paints objects in local vote counting, this still happens, with whom hides the paint in the hair," he explained. Another threat of fraud brought by the Director of IPC is stuffing the ballot box what happens in the vote, a situation that is exacerbated by the existence of weak enforcement and members of polling stations (MMV's) the service of political parties. Despite the political parties can indicate there's MMM regions such as Gaza province where it is not possible to be indicated by MMV opposition party due to growing political intolerance. Putting these aspects, Nuvunga be pointed challenge civil society to find ways to ensure that these threats do not tarnish the process, especially intensifying the surveillance process. In his presentation, Professor Luís de Brito, director of IESE showed a trend already havidas vote in general and local elections. Indicated that while in the South and in the province of Cabo Delgado the vote is in favor of Frelimo in central voting tends to be Renamo. This was true until 1999, and moved relatively in recent years.

This mapping of the vote showed that this election campaign candidates the presidency are following the same trend. The campaign Renamo affects the central and northern parts of the country, for example, and even Dhlakama still shifted to the southern zone. Meanwhile, Philip Nyusi lost most of his time campaigning in the provinces of Cabo Delgado and Gaza. The presentation stressed that significantly, candidates are focusing on the two most populous provinces, the largest constituencies, namely: Nampula and Zambezia.

Fernando Lima who made a presentation about the media coverage of the campaign, said this is the worst since 1994 criticized the use of television for the campaign of Mozambique Frelimo party, refraining from commenting on Radio Mozambique, alleging that there has been regularly monitor their emissions. Lima also criticized the partial coverage of the newspaper News that, despite not being public in law and legal standpoint, is majority public capital, the Bank of Mozambique.

A hacker’s perspective on Mozambique’s 2014 election

Every now and than we read reports in the media that “hackers” managed to break into a highly secured database or system for electronic payments. Government institutions, banks or companies that develop software with strong security features often contract such hackers to test the solidity of the safety measures they built into new procedures and applications. The hackers specialize in looking for weaknesses in the security features of a system and demonstrate their expertise by stealing or manipulating data.In this note we look with the eyes of hackers at the tabulation process in the forthcoming elections. The central question is which vulnerabilities we can identify in the security features. Or in other words: are there instances in the process where manipulation is possible? An electoral process is traditionally subject to strict security measures as these must guarantee that the results reflect correctly and transparently the preference expressed by each of the voters. If there is widespread trust that all actors will respect the rules of the game, the security measures do not need to be elaborate. But the stronger the perception that not everyone will always play by the book, the stronger the need to enhance and enforce security measures. The country’s electoral legislation has been under constant revision. A new package was discussed and approved after every electoral cycle so far. At the core of these discussions was not how the electoral system can become more representative, how technical flaws can be removed or how the system can become more cost-effective. Time after time the driving force for reforms have been experiences that the system had been “hacked”. The most recent reforms concentrated on the integration of party members in the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration as well as in the teams that staff the polling stations. The aim of these measures is not to make the process more efficient, but purely to improve the protection against “hackers”. Renamo has systematically accused Frelimo of “stealing” elections and based on that logic they would only rely on their own loyal eyes watching over all the operations to prevent fraud. As part of the peace negotiations Renamo managed to push through a last-minute amendment of the election legislation to integrate party representatives of the three parties in Parliament in Election Commissions at all levels, the STAE at all levels and now also as polling station staff. Are you curious? Clik here.http://www.cip.org.mz/article.asp?lang=&sub=actual&docno=324

Bulletins of the ink pens flying

At least 20,800 (twenty thousand eight hundred) ballot papers for the election of members of the provincial assemblies, which were contained in 26 boxes, were stolen from a lorry in the early hours from Thursday to Friday, at the intersection of Inchope zone in Manica province.By the end of Sunday, 5 October, this material still desaparecido.O Director-General of the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE), Philibert Naife, confirmed on Sunday afternoon to "Canalmoz" that the boxes were removed from inside a container that followed a truck rented by the electoral administration bodies, to transport the ballots that were intended for Zambezia province, specifically for Pebane and Namacurra."It's a small batch of the rest of newsletters that were intended to vote for members of the Provincial Assemblies in Zambezia. It was not large quantities, "said Philibert Naife, and explained that each box corresponds to a polling station. Under the current electoral law, each table has 800 Director General eleitores.O STAE also said the stolen reports may not be used in the October 15 elections, because their serial numbers also serve as security code . Therefore, any ballot paper with a wrong serial number is automatically rejected during counting at polling stations. However, STAE has ordered the production of news bulletins instead of lost.

When asked about another incident last week in which a truck with materials escorted by the PRM fell in Ile district when carrying ballot papers for the election of the President allegedly already marked with X in favor of the candidate Frelimo, Filipe Nyusi, the managing director of STAE confirmed the incident but said it was training materials, including newsletters simulation, and not as it was aired.About the ballots produced in South Africa, on which it says that the part where you can put the X concerning Renamo and Dhlakama is waterproof, so that by putting up the X, an hour later disappears becoming null vote, Philibert Naife said for that, "was a need for high-tech that neither the United States still has" and added that the production process involving all stakeholders, including the electoral bodies and political parties, who approved .In bulletins are supposedly waterproof square in regards to the candidate Dhlakama and Renamo, there are reports that the pens that will be introduced in the voting booths will be flying paint, and that the effect will only give the Renamo candidate .other information is that the ballots have the image of a single candidate, which is the only Frelimo, as happened in municipal elections in the city of Nampula, where candidates of other parties had no where to mark the X.Felisberto Naife considered that these claims are "fabrications moment." Information that circulated last week indicated that, contrary to what happened in the past, in which members of polling stations could meet their phones at the tables, to allow to maintain control, in these elections on 15 October the same can only answer calls away from the table, which raises suspicions that they are tricks that can allow ballot box stuffing during these ausências.Sobre this issue, the Managing Director of STAE explained that under the current electoral law, no member polling station, other than the President, is authorized to answer phone calls within or outside those meetings. "All are prohibited from making or answering phone calls during voting and vote counting tables or outside, other than the President" said Philibert Naife, on Sunday afternoon (5). (B.Álvaro)

Buy a pig in a poke

The population of the Administrative Pange Tour Muxungue was reunited this Sunday (5) waiting to receive seeds and agricultural inputs as the announcement that it has received from local authorities. After the arrival of the delegation headed by the respective District Government Administrator Chibabava district (Sofala) the representative of the State has initiated the meeting. The District Administrator began by referencing the campaign, its importance in voting in favor of the Party of accomplishments. With the extension of the meeting without the reasons for it were discussed, citizens left for the challenge, creating an authentic chaos on site. Some official cars were abandoned and there is talk of injuries. Security Administrator had to restrain and not react intelligently by Pange be near Base Mangomonhe (Renamo). One shot could have an explosive reaction of guerrillas Dhlakama. Some are injured at this point to reach on foot in rural hospital Muxungue. (L. Chiseve in Facebbok)

The controversy of the Blue TEC

The case of the Mercedes CTA was just, for me, the overflow cup water in a plot that has been dragging on almost any term of the present incumbent of the Ponta Vermelha. In my view, there is absolutely no problem with someone offering a car or any other type of gift to the Trustee of the People, regardless of their value and reach.The problem starts when a political dimension Armando Guebuza, and after receiving notice that incurs an offense, takes over 72 hours to make a decision that, in these situations, to avoid any kind of suspicion, should be taken in the morning the next day the offer. If we consider that the consulate was President Guebuza of the Law on Public Probity (LPP) was introduced in the Mozambican legal system and it was he who sent enact, so this is someone who knows the spirit and scope thereof.

I mean, it's not a question of the President be waiting for legal advice from institutions that should provide. Incidentally, the LPP, as everyone will recall, is a law that created friction between officials of organs of state sovereignty, Parliament, government and civil society.

Who does not remember the famous statement of Mrs. Margaret Talapa, head of the Frelimo bench, which, lungs, referred to "the inside and outside ...." in the headquarters of the National Assembly.Whilst it is understandable that President Guebuza did not want to be rude, declining the Mercedes on the day and time of the offer, the next day morning, a letter from the Presidency should have followed for the CTA, communicating the return. That did not happen, and such shows - clearly - that someone paid by taxes from all of us to take care of the image of President Guebuza was the sornar.The letter of caregivers image of President Guebuza should have followed for CTA, communicating that the presented gesture of thanks that guild and economic declines on the grounds that the LPP imposes.In this regard it should be recalled that, wanting, as happens in these situations, President Guebuza had the option, he being presented, but may not receive the offer, suggesting that it was sold, and the value from there that works to overturn charitable, as it sounds happen in other places in this world. A donation of these could be channeled, for example, the Mozambique Red Cross, House Gaiato or any charity.This gesture, in election times like this we are in, would be a big help that would capture some sympathy and, by extension, some more votes for Frelimo and its candidate. Because, like it or not, if someone wants to be honest with you, will agree if you say that, even with so many accomplishments, President Guebuza has its image on the streets of bitterness. To say otherwise would be like trying to find out the sex of the angels!

Everyone talks wear the image of President Guebuza, from leaders of state institutions, Frelimo members at all levels, journalists, etc., and if they do, is recognize that it causes much outrage considerable part of "wonderful people. "Some members of the "just" speak G40 image of President Guebuza in cafes and say the same thing is said in various circles of opinion in this country: the image of the President inspires special care, even in public behave in "politically correct ".On the other hand, the law aims Public Probity (va) serve as a brake to behaviors that would configure conflicts of interest especially in the socio-economic area. Thus, one would expect that the Legal Office of the CTA had alerted the most relevant responsible organization that his gesture was getting a "frock" to President Guebuza.Regardless of whether the President has returned the Mercedes, the eyes of the people, always remains a curiosity that is to know what was the goal of pushing the president to this level?Does the Legal Counsel of the CTA not advised Mr. Rogério Manuel and his "board" of the consequences of his act would cause, subjecting the President to all this ridicule and public reprimand.Does exist vested interests of some members of the board of CTA that are behind the burning of the image of the President? But the other said, the ends do not look at the media. (R. Bie)

NYUSI PLEDGES TO DEFEND RIGHTS OF ELDERLY

Filipe Nyusi, the presidential candidate of Mozambique’s ruling Frelimo Party, declared on Wednesday that, if elected, he will guarantee protection of the rights of the elderly.

Speaking in Govuro district, in the southern province of Inhambane, on the UN-decreed Internatonal Day of Older Persons, Nyusi said that the state allowances paid to poverty-stricken elderly people would continue under any government that he headed. He told the Govuro rally that the elderly have made an important contribution to the country, and so the state has a duty to take care of them. He pledged that, if elected, he would do all in his power to ensure that the elderly have access to good medical care, and to centres where they can study, or undertake activities such as handicrafts to increase their income. Above all he promised to protect the elderly from violence. There has been a wave of horrific attacks, including murder, against elderly people, mostly women, who are accused of witchcraft by members of their own families. Nyusi warned that young people who disrespect and abuse their own parents are unlikely to have much luck in their own lives.Nyusi recalled the saying of the country’s first President, Samora Machel, that the elderly are the country’s “living libraries”, because they transmit to younger generations the knowledge they have accumulated over the decades.Before leaving Manica province the previous day, Nyusi declined to comment on allegations by Afonso Dhlakama, leader of the former rebel movement Renamo, that the Nyusi campaign was costing 300 million US dollars. Speaking in the provincial capital, Chimoio, Nyusi said he had no time to waste speaking about other candidates and their campaigns, or to comment on their claims. He said he preferred to talk with his fellow-countrymen so they could help him improve his programme for governance.“My campaign is to discuss with the people what I should do in the event that they elect me as President”, he said. “I am not going to waste my time commenting about what the others say about my campaign or about me”. 

Dhlakama had claimed that Frleimo is using public money in its campaign – and indeed it is, since the electoral law obliges the state to subsidise election campaigns.The National Elections Commission (CNE) allocated 7.7 million meticais (about 251,000 US dollars) to the Nyusi campaign. The same amount was allocated to Dhlakama, and to the third presidential candidate, Daviz Simango, of the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM).State money for the political parties depends on how many seats parliamentary seats they are contesting. Frelimo, Renamo, the MDM and two minor parties are contesting all seats, and each is receiving a further 1.2 million meticais.Dhlakama claimed that “not even Obama” had spent as much money on a presidential campaign as Nyusi. But in fact, in the American presidential elections of 2012, both Barack Obama and his republican opponent Mitt Romney, spent over a billion dollars on their campaigns. According to the accounts which the campaigns filed with the Federal Elections Commission, Obama spent 1.123 billion dollars, and Romney 1.019 billion (and these figures do not include last minute advertising from some of the major campaign donors). 

FRANGOULIS DENIES POLICE ACCUSATION

Antonio Frangoulis, the former head of the Maputo City branch of the Criminal Investigation Police (PIC), and now a parliamentary candidate for the opposition Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), has denied claims by the spokesperson of the General Command of the police, Pedro Cossa, that he fired six shots in the clash between supporters of the MDM and of the ruling Frelimo Party in the town of Macia, in the southern province of Gaza, on 20 September.Asked to comment on Tuesday about the failure of the police to protect the motorcade of MDM leader and presidential candidate Daviz Simango from Frelimo attack, Cossa claimed that Frangoulis fired six times “after a motorcade of that party became involved in acts of violence with a Frelimo motorcade”.

Reports from the journalists accompanying Simango indicated that the violence was started by the Frelimo supporters, and that Simango’s personal bodyguards intervened to protect him. The AIM reporter with the Simango motorcade heard eight shots fired into the air by a bodyguard.Frangoulis, who was with Simango, denied that he had fired the shots. Interviewed in Thursday’s issue of the independent newsheet “Mediafax”, he reacted to Cossa’s accusation with a well-known proverb “When the monkey doesn’t know how to dance, he says the floor is crooked”.

Frangoulis (pictured, left Simango the candidate) believed that the inclusion of his name in the police account of the Macia events was because senior figures in the police had long been persecuting him. “There are people in the police who have an appetite for denigrating Antonio Frangoulis”, he said. “That is their goal. Simply this – to denigrate my image”. Frangoulis shot to fame when he took charge of the investigations into the murder of the country’s finest investigative journalist, Carlos Cardoso, in November 2000. It was to a large extent thanks to Frangoulis that the six murderers were arrested, tried and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. 

But during these investigations, he was sometimes in open conflict with the then interior minister, Almerino Manhenje. After leaving the police force, he became a law lecturer, and he was elected to the country’s parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on the Frelimo ticket, in 2004. He was not reselected for the subsequent election, in 2009. Frangoulis became increasingly critical both of the leadership of the police force and of Frelimo, expressing these criticisms in his frequent television appearances. This year he publicly switched his political allegiance, and is again running for parliament, but this time on the MDM ticket. He is the most senior Frelimo figure to defect to the MDM.

Frangoulis told “Mediafax” that his opponents in the police were afraid that, once in parliament on the MDM benches, he would be the voice of those police officers critical of the current leadership. “They know that I’m on the path to the Assembly of the Republic, and that once I’m in the Assembly, I will be a spokesperson for the weak”, he said. “Even now, I am receiving information about the rottenness and problems within the police”.“I have my ideas and I shall continue to defend them”, he said. If Frelimo did not understand that there must be significant changes, then it would be heading for “a political cataclysm”.

As for the role of the police in the clashes between the Frelimo and the MDM, Frangoulis said that the police had always been informed in advance of the route being taken by Simango’s motorcade “but they’re not there”. The MDM had been met with hostile Frelimo crowds in both Maputo and Gaza provinces, “but the police did almost nothing”.One might even think, he added, that the police had informed Frelimo of Simango’s route, because everywhere Simango went, he found Frelimo groups there in advance, waiting to obstruct his progress. He accused the police leadership of being “completely subservient” to Frelimo.