16 October 2009
Mozambique's National Elections Commission (CNE) stands accused of falsifying the parliamentary lists of a minor political party so that it can stand in the forthcoming general election in the central province of Sofala.
The accusation appears in the latest issue of the weekly paper "Magazine Independente" (MI), and concerns a recently formed party, the Union of Mozambican Democrats (UDM), led by a man named Jose Viana, who wants to abolish the separation of church and state, and rule Mozambique "by the divine law".
It came as something of a surprise when the CNE allowed this lunatic fringe party to stand anywhere at all - particularly after the Constitutional Council had thrown out Viana's attempt to stand in the presidential election because almost all the supporting signatures he presented were forged.
All presidential candidates need the backing signatures of at least 10,000 registered voters. Viana submitted 12,000 - but the Constitutional Council found that only 11 of them were valid.
Some of Viana's supporters had signed his papers several times, sometimes using different voter card numbers. Some had names without voter card numbers, some had card numbers that were impossible (because they were more than 18 digits long).
Public notaries must have connived with Viana, because some of the names had no signature, but the notary had written "I recognise the signature". Viana had also multiplied the number of his supporters by photocopying sheets of signatures.
So how could a party whose leader could summon up no more than 11 valid signatures for his presidential bid possibly hope to find enough candidates to stand in the parliamentary election?
Viana himself admitted, in an interview with MI, that the UDM did not have enough candidates to fill the number of seats for any of the multi-member constituencies. Viana believes the CNE should have notified him so that the problem could be sorted out.
But the legal position is clear. If, by the close of nominations (29 July), a party had not submitted enough candidates to fill all seats in a constituency, plus at least three reserve candidates, it was not eligible to stand in that constituency. The lack of sufficient candidates is not a procedural error that can be corrected.
Thus the CNE should have rejected all the UDM's lists. Instead, it called on the UDM's election agent, Aida Pires, and rearranged the names. By pulling together valid candidates from other provinces, it was able to devise a complete UDM list for Sofala.
If this accusation is accurate, then the CNE committed a serious breach of the electoral law, and offered the UDM facilities that more serious parties did not benefit from.
If any CNE members thought Viana would thank them, they were much mistaken. For Viana didn't really want his party to run in Sofala - he would much have preferred his home province of Zambezia. He has been complaining bitterly about this, bombarding the press with statements since mid-September.
He also appealed to the Constitutional Council, demanding the immediate replacement of Pires as the UDM election agent. Since the internal organisation of the UDM has nothing to do with the Constitutional Council, Viana's request was thrown out.
But amid all the nonsense in Viana's appeal, there is a serious point. If Pires did sit down, on 29 August (a month after nominations closed) and, in collusion with somebody from the CNE, drew up a list of candidates for Sofala, headed by her own name, then illegal candidates have been foisted on the voters of that province.
The view expressed by MI is that this was done expressly to damage the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), the party led by the Mayor of Beira, Daviz Simango. Sofala is the MDM's stronghold, and the appearance on the Sofala ballot paper of the acronym UDM, differing from Simango's party by just one letter, might lead some voters astray.
Regardless of whether that was the intention, the matter certainly deserves thorough investigation either by the CNE itself, or by the Constitutional Council.
Viana says he has no intention of campaigning in Sofala, since that would be "to legitimize a corrupted process". But in fact Viana has made at least one radio party political broadcast - which can only be aimed at the voters of Sofala, since the UDM is not standing anywhere else.
Presumably he made the tape with his own funds, since the UDM has not yet collected the campaign money to which it is entitled from the CNE. Viana has dismissed the CNE money as "crumbs" which it would be beneath his dignity to accept. The reality is more prosaic - the CNE has so far been unable to send money to the UDM because it has neither a tax number nor a bank account.
Source: Allafrica (16-10-2009)
Mozambique's National Elections Commission (CNE) stands accused of falsifying the parliamentary lists of a minor political party so that it can stand in the forthcoming general election in the central province of Sofala.
The accusation appears in the latest issue of the weekly paper "Magazine Independente" (MI), and concerns a recently formed party, the Union of Mozambican Democrats (UDM), led by a man named Jose Viana, who wants to abolish the separation of church and state, and rule Mozambique "by the divine law".
It came as something of a surprise when the CNE allowed this lunatic fringe party to stand anywhere at all - particularly after the Constitutional Council had thrown out Viana's attempt to stand in the presidential election because almost all the supporting signatures he presented were forged.
All presidential candidates need the backing signatures of at least 10,000 registered voters. Viana submitted 12,000 - but the Constitutional Council found that only 11 of them were valid.
Some of Viana's supporters had signed his papers several times, sometimes using different voter card numbers. Some had names without voter card numbers, some had card numbers that were impossible (because they were more than 18 digits long).
Public notaries must have connived with Viana, because some of the names had no signature, but the notary had written "I recognise the signature". Viana had also multiplied the number of his supporters by photocopying sheets of signatures.
So how could a party whose leader could summon up no more than 11 valid signatures for his presidential bid possibly hope to find enough candidates to stand in the parliamentary election?
Viana himself admitted, in an interview with MI, that the UDM did not have enough candidates to fill the number of seats for any of the multi-member constituencies. Viana believes the CNE should have notified him so that the problem could be sorted out.
But the legal position is clear. If, by the close of nominations (29 July), a party had not submitted enough candidates to fill all seats in a constituency, plus at least three reserve candidates, it was not eligible to stand in that constituency. The lack of sufficient candidates is not a procedural error that can be corrected.
Thus the CNE should have rejected all the UDM's lists. Instead, it called on the UDM's election agent, Aida Pires, and rearranged the names. By pulling together valid candidates from other provinces, it was able to devise a complete UDM list for Sofala.
If this accusation is accurate, then the CNE committed a serious breach of the electoral law, and offered the UDM facilities that more serious parties did not benefit from.
If any CNE members thought Viana would thank them, they were much mistaken. For Viana didn't really want his party to run in Sofala - he would much have preferred his home province of Zambezia. He has been complaining bitterly about this, bombarding the press with statements since mid-September.
He also appealed to the Constitutional Council, demanding the immediate replacement of Pires as the UDM election agent. Since the internal organisation of the UDM has nothing to do with the Constitutional Council, Viana's request was thrown out.
But amid all the nonsense in Viana's appeal, there is a serious point. If Pires did sit down, on 29 August (a month after nominations closed) and, in collusion with somebody from the CNE, drew up a list of candidates for Sofala, headed by her own name, then illegal candidates have been foisted on the voters of that province.
The view expressed by MI is that this was done expressly to damage the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), the party led by the Mayor of Beira, Daviz Simango. Sofala is the MDM's stronghold, and the appearance on the Sofala ballot paper of the acronym UDM, differing from Simango's party by just one letter, might lead some voters astray.
Regardless of whether that was the intention, the matter certainly deserves thorough investigation either by the CNE itself, or by the Constitutional Council.
Viana says he has no intention of campaigning in Sofala, since that would be "to legitimize a corrupted process". But in fact Viana has made at least one radio party political broadcast - which can only be aimed at the voters of Sofala, since the UDM is not standing anywhere else.
Presumably he made the tape with his own funds, since the UDM has not yet collected the campaign money to which it is entitled from the CNE. Viana has dismissed the CNE money as "crumbs" which it would be beneath his dignity to accept. The reality is more prosaic - the CNE has so far been unable to send money to the UDM because it has neither a tax number nor a bank account.
Source: Allafrica (16-10-2009)
Mensagens
5 comentários:
E o que dizem os nossos distintos juristas que defendem a CNE?
José, estou a espero dos comentários deles. As provas de que houve jogo para excluirem MDM virão sempre.
Grande Reflectindo,
Penso que as questões são óbvias. A CNE é um órgão sem credibilidade nenhuma. Há lá mais um clube de amigos em defesa de interesses de Nachingueya que outra coisa. Mas a história é irreversível. O navio já está a afundar no Alto- Mar, o que a CNE está a fazer é correr com canoas contra a maré para salvar alguns pedacinhos que restam do navio.
Mas acautelem-se eles porque nalgum dia e nesse mesmo país as coisas irão em seu desfavor. Ninguém acreditava que os poderes de Salazar, Hitler, Mussolini, Staline teriam fim. O seu fim todos nós sabemos. Algo especial também está acontecendo no vizinho Malawi entre Bingu wa Mutharika e Bakili Muluzi. Antes desse estava o Kamuzu Banda que se dizia eterno.
Avante, o carruagem já arrancou, quem não avança agora, só poderá encontrar os outros no Alto-Mar, quando estivermos a remover os destroços do Navio para a Costa.
Grande Reflectindo,
Penso que as questões são óbvias. A CNE é um órgão sem credibilidade nenhuma. Há lá mais um clube de amigos em defesa de interesses de Nachingueya que outra coisa. Mas a história é irreversível. O navio já está a afundar no Alto- Mar, o que a CNE está a fazer é correr com canoas contra a maré para salvar alguns pedacinhos que restam do navio.
Mas acautelem-se eles porque nalgum dia e nesse mesmo país as coisas irão em seu desfavor. Ninguém acreditava que os poderes de Salazar, Hitler, Mussolini, Staline teriam fim. O seu fim todos nós sabemos. Algo especial também está acontecendo no vizinho Malawi entre Bingu wa Mutharika e Bakili Muluzi. Antes desse estava o Kamuzu Banda que se dizia eterno.
Avante, o carruagem já arrancou, quem não avança agora, só poderá encontrar os outros no Alto-Mar, quando estivermos a remover os destroços do Navio para a Costa.
Caro Leo
Aí está. Há factos para não pensarmos que alguém trabalha para desacreditar a CNE, mas ela desacredita-se por si própria.
O eleitor merece à verdade.
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