Maputo, 8 Feb (AIM) – The re-elected mayor of the central Mozambican city of Quelimane, Manuel de Araujo, on Wednesday accused the presiding judge of the Zambezia provincial court of misleading the public.
All the newly elected mayors and municipal assemblies were sworn into office on Wednesday, in ceremonies chaired by senior judges. In the case of Quelimane, the head of the provincial court, Paulo Cinco Reis, presided.
One of his tasks was to confirm the identity and legitimacy of the member of the municipal assembly. The minutes read out by Cinco Reis said that one member of the Assembly from the ruling Frelimo Party, Alexandre Luis da Rocha, was absent from the ceremony “for unknown reasons”.
Araujo intervened to declare that this was untrue. Rocha could not attend the ceremony because he is under arrest, accused of electoral fraud. Araujo pointed out that Rocha had been caught red-handed, attempting to slip extra ballot papers into a ballot box during the municipal election of 11 October.
Araujo demanded that the minutes be changed to reflect the reality of Rocha’s situation. Cited in Thursday’s issue of the independent daily “O Pais”, he declared “these minutes don’t reflect justice or what is public knowledge among the citizens of Quelimane. So I am asking for a correction since we are all citizens of this country. All of us, including the provincial director of justice know why Alexandre Rocha is not here”.
“He is not here because he was caught red-handed putting in ballot papers on 11 October”, added Araujo. “So it’s not for ‘unknown reasons’, but for what is already known. We must be transparent”.
Ballot box stuffing was one of the tactics used by fraudsters in their attempt to deprive Araujo and the main opposition party, Renamo, of victory.
The National Elections Commission (CNE) was quite willing to accept the fraud and declare Frelimo the winner in Quelimane. But the Constitutional Council, the country’s highest body in matters of constitutional and electoral law, recounted the Quelimane vote, and overturned the CNE’s decision.
(AIM)
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