Sharp Increase In Election Costs

Sharp Increase In Election Costs

Maputo, 30 Jan (AIM) – The projected cost of the Mozambican municipal elections scheduled for this year has risen to over 14 billion meticais (about 219 million US dollars, at the current exchange rate), according to the spokesperson for the Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE), Lucas Manjaze, interviewed by the independent television station, STV.

This is a huge increase from the cost of 9.7 billion meticais estimated last year by the National Elections Commission (CNE). It is not yet clear where the electoral bodies will find the extra money needed.

Manjaze said the increase is partly due to implementing the new Single Wage Table (TSU) for the public administration so that it covers all STAE employees, and partly to the increased prices on the world market for the goods required for the voter registration and the election itself.

On top of this came the increase in the number of municipalities. Against the CNE’s advice, the government and the Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, pushed ahead with the creation of 12 new municipalities, raising the number of municipal assemblies to be elected from 53 to 65.

Manjaze confirmed that the central province of Manica takes the largest share of the electoral budget. This, he said, is because, of all the provinces, only Manica has electoral bodies that are permanently in operation.

In other words the district election commissions and the district branches of STAE in Manica remain active, inside and outside of election periods, thus drastically increasing their wages bill. There is still no explanation for why the Manica election bodies continue to work during periods when no elections are being held, while the same practice does not apply anywhere else in the country.

Manjaze also confirmed that pilot voter registration will begin on 1 February. This registration will be held in three districts each in Nampula, Manica and Maputo provinces. It will last for 20 days, and is intended to test the equipment that will be used in the full voter registration for the municipal elections beginning in April.
(AIM)
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