PRESENTATION ON SADC ELECTION OBSERVER MISSIONS IN BOTSWANA,

LESOTHO, NAMIBIA, ZAMBIA, MADAGASCAR AND MOZAMBIQUE

Presentation by DIRCO to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation

18 March 2015

LAYOUT

• Botswana;

• Lesotho;

• Namibia;

• Zambia;

• Madagascar; and

• Mozambique

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BOTSWANA

INTRODUCTION This briefing focuses on the Botswana General Elections which were held on 24 October 2014.

These were scheduled General Elections as provided for in the Constitution and the Electoral Law of Botswana.

The main parties that contested the elections were the:

• BDP (Botswana Democratic Party);

• UDC (Umbrella for Democratic Change); and

• BCP (Botswana Congress Party)

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SADC ELECTION OBSERVER MISSION• In accordance with the SADC tradition election observers

(100) from 9 member states were deployed.

• The observers were broken down into 25 teams covering all the regions of the country

• South Africa formed part of the SADC Election Observation Mission (SEOM) with a contingent of 12 members drawn from Parliament, civil society and Government.

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Pre-election phase

• The pre election phase was characterised by a peaceful environment. Party supporters turned up in huge numbers to attend political campaigns and rallies with no major incidents.

• The SADC Observer Mission met with various stakeholders.

• Issues raised by some stakeholders, amongst others, included the following:

o The arrest and harassment of journalists;o Usage of Government resources for campaigning by the ruling

party; o Unequal and unfair coverage of political events by the national

broadcaster;o Timeous availability of an updated Voters roll.

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ELECTION DAY

• On election day, the same peaceful environment prevailed.

• 55% of Voters turned up to exercise their democratic right to cast their vote.

• The polling process was conducted procedurally and processes for secure counting of votes were adhered to.

• The observers, in their reports, indicated that the election process was conducted in a transparent and smooth manner and the secrecy of the ballot was ensured.

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SADC PRELIMINARY STATEMENT• In its statement, the SADC Observer Mission concluded that

elections were peaceful, transparent, credible, free and fair.

• The Mission congratulated the people of Botswana on the peaceful and the political tolerant manner in which they conducted their elections.

• Furthermore, the SEOM called on all political parties to respect the election results as announced by the Electoral Commission.

• The statement also raised issues that need to be addressed in future such the media fairness; timeous access to the voter’s roll for inspection and fair political party funding by the Government.

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ELECTION RESULTS• 824 073 registered voters managed to cast their votes.

• Following the election and as the results were compiled by the Electoral Commission, the parliamentary results were announced as follows:

Party Seats

BDP 37

UDC 17

BCP 3

• The BDP obtained a governing mandate.

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Post election • A peaceful environment continues to prevail after the election

results were announced.

• No case to the Constitutional Court challenging the election outcome was filed.

• This indicated that all stakeholders were satisfied with the general conduct during the elections

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CONCLUSION• We believe that the elections were a true reflection of the

wishes of the Batswana.

• We believe and trust that the people of Botswana will work together to build their country.

• We further believe that true to the culture of Batswana, they will confront all their challenges through an all inclusive dialogue .

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Conclusion (continued)

• At a bilateral level, the South African Government will work closely with Botswana to further consolidate and enhance the historical political, economic and social relations that exist between the two sister Republics.

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LESOTHO

INTRODUCTION

• This briefing focuses on the Lesotho National Assembly Elections which were held on 28 February 2015.

• The holding of these elections was a direct result of the SADC Facilitation Process, headed by South Africa.

• The SADC process envisioned three key milestones namely, formation of a new Government, peaceful negotiated settlement of disputes and the elections.

• These elections were conducted under the Lesotho Constitution and the Electoral Act.

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SADC ELECTION OBSERVER MISSION

• Considering the importance of these elections and SADC’s role as the facilitator, SADC decided to send election observers (84) who were deployed 2 weeks before the elections.

• South Africa formed part of the SADC Election Observation Mission (SEOM) with a contingent of 12 members drawn from Parliament, civil society and Government.

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Pre-election phase• The pre-election phase was characterised by a peaceful environment

and political tolerance. Party supporters turned up in huge numbers to attend political campaigns and rallies with no intimidation or harassment.

• The SADC Observer Mission met with various stakeholders. • Issues raised by some stakeholders, amongst others, included the

following:o Security situation in the country;o The reliability of the voter registration and the voter’s roll; o Challenges relating to the advance vote;o Isolated incidences of intimidation;o Readiness of the Electoral Election Commission;o The Constitutional silence on coalition politics

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ELECTION DAY

• On election day, the same generally peaceful environment prevailed.

• More than half of the registered Voters turned up to exercise their democratic right to cast their vote.

• The polling process was conducted procedurally and procedures for secure counting of votes were adhered to.

• The observers, in their reports, indicated that the election process was conducted in a transparent and smooth manner and the secrecy of the ballot was ensured.

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SADC PRELIMINARY STATEMENT• In its statement, the SADC Observer Mission concluded that elections

were peaceful, transparent, free, fair and credible.

• The Mission congratulated the people of Lesotho on the peaceful and the political tolerant manner in which they conducted their elections.

• Furthermore, the SEOM called on all political parties to respect the election results as announced by the IEC.

• The statement also raised issues that need to be addressed in future such as the media reform; usage of government resources for campaigning by coalition parties; the speedy removal of deceased persons from the voters’ roll; timely delivery of election material to voting stations.

• The statement added recommendations on Constitutional and Security Sector reforms.

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ELECTION RESULTS• 563,922 registered voters managed to cast their votes. • Following the election, the National Assembly results were

announced as follows:

Party Seats

DC 47

ABC 46

LCD 12

BNP 7• A further 8 seats were divided amongst 6 smaller parties. No

party obtained a clear majority but the DC formed a coalition of 7 parties to gain control of parliament.

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Post election

• A peaceful environment continues to prevail after the election results were announced.

• No court case pending after the announcement of results.

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CONCLUSION

• We believe that the results of the elections was a reflection of the will of Basotho.

• We hope that Basotho will work together to build their country.

• We trust that all stakeholders in Lesotho will play a positive role in move the country forward.

• At a bilateral level, the South African Government will continue to work closely with Lesotho to further consolidate and enhance the historical political, economic and social relations that exist between the two countries.

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NAMIBIA

INTRODUCTION • Following the proclamation of the date for the 2014

Presidential and National Assembly elections and the subsequent invitation by the Electoral Commission of Namibia, a SADC Election Observer Mission was deployed.

• Presidential and National Assembly elections were held in Namibia on 28 November 2014.

• The people of Namibia gave SWAPO Party and its Presidential Candidate Dr Hage Geingob, another mandate to govern the country for the next five years.

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SADC ELECTION OBSERVER MISSION• President Jacob Zuma mandated the SADC Executive

Secretary, Dr Stergomena Lawrence Tax, to constitute the SADC Electoral Observer Mission (SEOM) to the Republic of Namibia.

• Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, was Head of the SADC Electoral Observation Mission (SEOM) that observed elections in Namibia.

• South Africa formed part of the SADC Election Observation Mission (SEOM) with a contingent drawn from Parliament, civil society and Government.

• The SEOM consisted of 98 members.

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Pre-election phase• The pre-election phase was characterised by a peaceful environment

and political tolerance. Party supporters turned up in huge numbers to attend political campaigns and rallies with no intimidation or harassment.

• The SADC Observer Mission met with various stakeholders. Issues raised by some stakeholders, amongst others, included the following:– Alleged use of public resources resulting in undue advantage in favour of the

ruling party;– Use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Although the introduction of EVMs

was agreeable to most political parties, it had become a contentious issue due to the absence of a voter verifiable paper audit (paper trail);  

– The perception that the passing of the Namibian Constitution Third Amendment Act and the new Electoral Act were hurried.

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ELECTION DAY• SEOM noted the following:• (i) That some polling stations experienced delays in opening

which subsequently led to delays in the voting process; • (ii) The delays in a number of polling stations were generally

due to polling officials’ lack of clarity on the use of the EVMs, i.e. Operator’s error as well as the EVMs’ failure to operate and consistent breakdown of the voter verification devices in some cases; and

• (iii) All the relevant elections material such as Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), voter registers, indelible and invisible ink, among other things, were present in most polling Stations.

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SADC PRELIMINARY STATEMENT• Guided by the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing

Democratic Elections, the SEOM concluded that the 2014 Presidential and National Assembly Elections in Namibia were peaceful, transparent, free and fair, and credible, reflected the will of the Namibian people.

• SADC urged the people of Namibia, and all leaders of political parties, to accept the outcome of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.

• The SEOM congratulated and commended the people of Namibia for the high voter turnout. This is proof that the Namibian people value their country and it is an excellent example which serves to deepen democracy in Namibia and the SADC region.

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ELECTION RESULTS• President Elect Geingob received 86,7 % of the national vote for President• Presidential Candidate Mr McHenry Venaani came second with 4,8% of

the total votes• Rally for Democracy and Progress candidate Hidipo Hamatenya got a

total of 3,5% of all votes• National Assembly Seats• SWAPO: got 77 of 96• RDP: 3 seats• DTA: 5 seats• APP: 2 Seats• UDF: 2 seats• NUDO : 2 seats

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Post election

• A peaceful environment continues to prevail after the election results were announced.

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CONCLUSION

• We believe that consolidation of democracy has been turned in Namibia following these successful elections.

• At a bilateral level, the South African Government will continue to work closely with Namibia to further consolidate and enhance the historical political, economic and social relations that exist between the two sister Republics.

• President Zuma and Minister Nkoana-Mashabane will also attend the Namibian Presidential Inauguration, to be held on the 21 of March 2015

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ZAMBIA

INTRODUCTION

• The elections in Zambia were held following the untimely passing away of President Michael Sata on 28 October 2014.

• As a result, the then Acting President of Zambia, Dr. Guy Scott, acting in accordance with Article 38 of the Constitution of Zambia, had to organise the elections in a period of three months, and subsequently proclaimed 20 January 2015, as the date for the Presidential Election.

• 11 Political parties in Zambia presented candidates to run for the presidential seat.

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SADC ELECTION OBSERVER MISSION• South Africa as Chair of the Organ on Politics Defence and

Security Cooperation, led and formed part of the SADC Election Observation Mission (SEOM) to Zambia with a contingent of 66 members drawn from 9 SADC Member States. The SEOM deployed 11 Teams in all 10 Provinces of Zambia.

• The SEOM was launched on 10 January 2015 and observed the pre- electoral phase, the Election Day and the post electoral phase.

• The SEOM was deployed in Zambia for a period of 21 Days.

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Pre-election phase• The pre election phase was characterised by a generally peaceful

environment with reports of sporadic violent incidences which did not hamper the electoral process. Party supporters turned up in huge numbers to attend political campaigns.

• The SADC Observer Mission met with various stakeholders, including government officials, political parties, the electoral commission, labour, women and youth groups.

• Issues raised by some stakeholders, amongst others, included the following:• Biased and partisan media; Insufficient Voter Education; Voters Roll of 2011 which was updated up

to June 2012; Utilisation of Government resources by ruling party; Low women representation amongst candidates; Incidents of political violence, intimidation and political intolerance; Unauthorized campaigning by public officers; Advantage of incumbency around the PF Presidential candidate; and readiness by some political parties to concede defeat.

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ELECTION DAY

• On election day, the same peaceful environment prevailed.

• Despite the difficulties posed by the rain, voters turned up in huge numbers to exercise their democratic right to cast their vote.

• The polling process was conducted procedurally and secure counting of votes was adhered to.

• The election process was conducted in a transparent manner and the secrecy of the ballot was ensured.

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SADC PRELIMINARY STATEMENT• In a statement issued on 22 January 2015, the SADC Electoral Observation

Mission concluded that the 2015 Presidential Election in Zambia was peaceful, transparent, credible, free, and fair, thus reflecting the will of the people of Zambia in accordance with the National Laws and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.

• The SEOM appealed to all Candidates and their political parties, and other stakeholders, to respect the will of the people and to uphold the laws of the Republic of Zambia by accepting the outcome of the election as and when announced by the constitutionally mandated body – the Electoral Commission of Zambia. Any challenge to the election results should be done in accordance with the laws of the country.

• The statement also raised issues that need to be addressed in future such a concerted effort to encourage women to participate in the political processes of the nation as candidates; Maintenance of an updated voters Roll and; Adequate civic and voter education by the ECZ to encourage the youth and women to participate in elections.

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Presidential election resultsOn 24 January the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission announced the Presidential election results as follows:

Candidate Political Party Votes

•Mr E Lungu PF 807 925

•Mr H Hichelama UPND 780 168

•Ms E Nawakwi FDD 15 321

•Mr N Mumba MMD 14 609

•Mr T Kaunda UNIP 9 737

•Mr E Chanda 4R 8 054

•Mr E Chipimo NAREP 6 002

•Mr G Miyanda HERITAGE 5 757

•Mr D Pule CDP 3 293

•Mr L Sondashi FDA 2 073

•Mr P Sinkanba GREENS 1 410

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Post election • A peaceful environment continued to prevail after the election

results were announced.

• President elect Mr Edgar Lungu was inaugurated on 25 January 2015.

• President Lungu appointed his Cabinet on 12 February 2015 and replaced former Vice President Guy Scott with the first woman Vice President in the history of Zambia, Ms Inonge Wina.

• Following his election, President Edgar Lungu visited some Heads of State in the SADC region, including a courtesy call to President Jacob Zuma on 24 February 2015.

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MADAGASCAR

ELECTIONS• Presidential & legislative elections were held towards the end of

2013.• Mr Hery Rajaonarimampianina elected President.• Dr Roger Kolo appointed Prime Minister.• New government, made up of 31 ministers & state secretaries

formed. • Period of relative peace, security & stability.• Strongly committed to democratic values, good governance, nation

building, national reconciliation, anti – corruption.• All sanctions now removed.

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SA’S ROLE

• Contributed financially.

• Participated actively in SADC Electoral Observer Mission.

• Earned deep appreciation of the Malagasy people.

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PROGRESS OF THE SADC ROADMAP

The following issues remain outstanding :

•Unconditional return of political exiles including former President Ravalomanana (Art 20);•Compensation to those "prejudiced by the process“ (Art 26,27); •National Reconciliation (Art 25). •Overseen by FFM (Reconciliation Council)

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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Return of former President Ravalomanana

•Unceremonious return nearly created environment not conducive to climate of social & political peace.

•Placed under house arrest.

•Approached SA to negotiate his unconditional release as a political returnee from exile.

•Cooperating with Malagasy authorities to investigate return

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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS (CONT)

New Government

•Prime Minister Roger Kolo resigned on 12 January 2015, along with his cabinet as his Government was accused of failure to deliver.

•The resignation created an opportunity for President Rajaonarimampianina to move forward on national reconciliation

•The new Prime Minister, General Jean Ravelonarivo, was appointed on 14 January 2015.

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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS (CONT)

• SADC Double Troika Summit of Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation on 29 January 2015 appointed Special Envoy, former Mozambican President Joachim Chissano to be assisted by a senior jurist in order to help with the harmonisation of Articles 20, 25 and 45 of SADC Roadmap on Madagascar.

• President Zuma met Pres Rajaonarimampianina at the January AU Summit.

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THE NATIONAL RECONCILIATION PROCESS

• Led by FFKM (Christian Council of Churches)

• Progress has been recorded although few challenges might still impede full realisation.

• 1+4 Summits to sort out differences with former Heads of State (Ravalomanana, Ratsiraka, Rajoelina, Zafy).

Challenges

• Withdrawal by former Presidents Zafy and Rajoelina.

• Personal/political differences, disagreements, vendettas.

• Lack of transparency in management & utilization of funds dispatched from Presidency

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THE NATIONAL RECONCILIATION PROCESS (CONT)

• FFKM/FFM/Presidency : Coordination currently from the Presidency, implementation is done by FFKM, scant reference made to FFM.

• Former political prisoners (FEDEP) demand US$400 per day compensation according to international law.

• Other domestic stakeholders such as traditional leaders also need to participate in the process for more inclusivity;

• Risk of religious conflict : FFKM (Christian) - perceived to be having a monopoly of leading the national reconciliation process, thus discarding other religious groupings

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THE NATIONAL RECONCILIATION PROCESS (CONT)

• Limitation of international resources : SADC Roadmap defines the rules, not the 4th Malagasy Republican Constitution.

• FFKM vowed to continue with national reconciliation process.• FFKM continues to engage and persuade Zafy and Rajoelina to

return to national reconciliation process.• International organizations & governments expressed support for

process initiated by the FFKM.

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THE NATIONAL RECONCILIATION PROCESS (CONT)

• Domestic political situation remains fragile.• Lack of traditional democratic culture, need for unity and national

reconciliation, economic recovery, overwhelming social needs.

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SA’S POSITIONSADC Roadmap • President Rajaonarimampianina should be commended

for commitment towards meeting requirements of SADC Roadmap.

• President Rajaonarimampianina to be encouraged to address outstanding issues as matter of priority.

• Support appointment of Special Envoy.

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SA’S POSITION (CONT)

National Reconciliation •President Rajaonarimampianina should be assured of SA’s unequivocal support to achieve national reconciliation in Madagascar, both from bilateral point of view, as well as within framework of SA’s role as Chair of SADC Organ on Politics, Defence & Security•Supports on-going contributions made by In Transformation Initiative (ITI) 

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MOZAMBIQUE

PRE-ELECTION LANDSCAPE• Mozambique held its fifth General Election on 15 October 2014 across all

eleven (11) provinces representing 10 964 77 million voters at 3 017 polling stations.

• The run up to the General Election 2014 was characterized by intense political dialogue between FRELIMO and RENAMO, often reflected on negatively in the media. The Municipal Elections held in November 2013 across the country were used as a credible “dress rehearsal” to the General Election 2014 and were conducted in a free and fair environment.

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SADC ELECTION OBSERVER MISSION• Following an invitation from the Mozambican Government, President Zuma,

in his capacity as Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, appointed the South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, HE Maite Nkoana-Mashabane as Head of the SEOM to Mozambique.

• Minister Nkoana-Mashabane was assisted by members of the Troika of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, i.e. HE Ambassador J Metsing (Lesotho) and HE Ambassador K Mbuende (Namibia).

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SADC ELECTION OBSRVER MISSION cont.

• In accordance with established practice, the SADC Secretariat dispatched a pre-assessment mission to Mozambique under the auspices of the SADC Electoral Advisory Council (SEAC) which found that the environment in Mozambique was conducive to the holding of general elections.

• The SEOM was launched on 3 October 2014 and 145 Observers from SADC Member States were deployed to all eleven (11) provinces of the Republic of Mozambique. The SEOM was tasked to follow pre-election events, inclusive of political rallies and media coverage of the elections.

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PRE-ELECTION PHASE• The pre-election phase was characterized by a generally peaceful

environment with a few reports of sporadic physical incidents and/or violation of the Electoral Laws pertaining to campaigning.

• In the execution of its duties, the SEOM consulted various stakeholders to gain a full appreciation of the electoral processes as well as the legal framework, security and the political environment in Mozambique.

• Stakeholders consulted included e.g. the National Elections Commission (CNE), Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE), the Mozambican Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the President of the Constitutional Court, members of the Diplomatic Corps, the main political parties i.e. FRELIMO, RENAMO and MDM, the AU, Community of Portuguese speaking Countries (CPLP) and other electoral observation Missions, Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA), civil society and media organizations etc.

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ELECTION DAY• The election day was calm and peaceful.

• In spite of numerous logistical challenges, voters exercised their democratic right to cast their ballot.

• The polling process, although time consuming, was generally conducted procedurally.

• The election process was conducted in a transparent manner and the secrecy of the ballot was ensured.

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SADC PRELIMINARY STATEMENTThe SEOM raised the following concerns with the relevant stakeholders and most of the concerns were resolved through the efforts of CNE:

(a)Alleged media bias on the side of state-owned media in favour of the ruling party;

(b)Alleged abuse of State resources;

(c)Intimidation;

(d)Reported incidents of violence in Gaza, Nampula and Zambezia Provinces;

(e)Reported arrests of political party agents; and

(f)Inadequate voter education, especially in rural areas, and post-election concerns and acceptance of the eventual outcome of the elections by the respective political parties.

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SADC PRELINARY STATEMENT cont.• Importantly, incidents of stolen ballot papers in Zambezia province were

swiftly dealt with by destroying the remaining papers and printing new ballot papers with new numbers.

• SADC issued its preliminary statement on 17 October 2015 concluding that the elections held were “generally peaceful, transparent, free and fair and credible, thus reflecting the will of the people of Mozambique in accordance with the National Electoral Laws and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections”.

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ELECTION RESULTS• It should be noted that the Mozambique electoral process is characterized

by a tedious process whereby results are tallied manually by the Provincial Electoral Commissions often leading to discrepancies in the vote count totals and resulting in the lodging of complaints by political parties to institutions such as District Courts/Constitutional Council.

• The Constitutional Council announced its validation of the Mozambican Presidential, Parliamentary and Provincial Assembly Elections on 29 November 2014. The conclusion of the process by the Constitutional Council paved the way for the inauguration of newly elected President Filipe Nyusi on 15 January 2015.

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ELECTION RESULTS

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

Candidates Parties Votes %

Filipe Nyusi Frelimo 2 803 536 57.00 %

Afonso Dhlakama Renamo 1 800 448 36.60 %

Daviz Simango MDM 314 759 6.40%

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ELECTION RESULTS

LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS

 Parties Votes % Seats

 Frelimo 2 534 845 55.68 % 144

Renamo 1 499 832 32.95 % 89

MDM 385 683 8.40 % 17

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ELECTION RESULTS cont. PROVINCIAL ELECTIONS

Party Seats

FRELIMO 485

RENAMO 294

MDM 32

NOTE: In addition to the above allocations, it is important to note that there are two (2) seats for Mozambican communities abroad, one for Africa, and one for the Rest of the World. Frelimo won both these seats.

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THANK YOU

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