Democracy in Check: Electoral Fraud Shadows the Inauguration Ceremony of Mayors
Yesterday, Wednesday, January 7, the 65 mayors elected in the municipal elections of October 11, which were repeated in some municipalities on December 10, 2023, were inaugurated. However, the tone of these elections was set by the fraud concocted by the electoral management bodies and endorsed by the Constitutional Council, distorting the people's will expressed at the polls.
On the same day, the members of the municipal assemblies of the 65 municipalities were also inaugurated. In representative democracies like ours, leaders are elected by the people to represent their interests. In the case of municipal elections, the mayor and members of the municipal assemblies act on behalf of the electoral populace.
However, the 2023 municipal elections were marred by unprecedented irregularities in Mozambique's short democratic history, which began with the 1994 elections. Data from non-governmental organizations and the opposition's parallel count, mainly from Renamo, indicate that the "perdiz" won in at least 20 municipalities, including the four officially proclaimed by the Constitutional Council.
This suggests that out of the 60 municipalities managed by Frelimo, at least 16 were fraudulently won, disrespecting the popular will expressed at the polls.
It is imperative to question whom the 16 mayors and the associated governments represent. We are talking about the mayors of Maputo, Matola, Marracuene, Nampula, Nacala-Porto, Ilha de Moçambique, Marromeu, among others.
Considering that in representative democracies, leaders are elected by the people to represent their interests, a new question arises: whom do Júlio Parruque, Shafee Sidat, Rasaque Manhique, and Luís Giquira represent? All these gentlemen and their governments are the result of fraud, not the will of the people.
Therefore, they do not represent the people. In this sense, fraud, when perpetrated by some segments within Frelimo, distorts the reach of representative democracy.
