The head of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EOM) to the Mozambican elections today called on the national authorities to quickly investigate the perpetrators of the murders of Elvino Dias and Paulo Guambe, which she called a “heinous act”.
“The European Union Election Observation Mission calls on the competent national authorities to swiftly investigate this heinous act, identify the perpetrators and hold them accountable,” said Laura Ballarín.
The head of the EOM echoed the words of the High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, who has already condemned the murder of Elvino Dias, legal advisor to presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane, and opposition politician Paulo Guambe.
“In a democracy, there is no place for politically motivated murders,” Josep Borrell said in his statement, adding: “The EU calls for maximum restraint on the part of all and for respect for fundamental freedoms and political rights. Furthermore, strong measures to protect all candidates in this post-electoral period are crucial.”
The EU EOM remains in the country to assess the ongoing electoral process and the EU expects “the electoral management bodies to conduct the process with all due diligence and transparency, respecting the expressed will of the Mozambican people.”
Lawyer Elvino Dias, a well-known defender of human rights cases in Mozambique, was a legal advisor to Venâncio Mondlane and the Democratic Alliance Coalition (CAD), a political group that initially supported that candidate for President of the Republic of Mozambique, until his registration for the general elections of October 9 was rejected by the National Electoral Commission (CNE).
Venâncio Mondlane would later be supported in his candidacy by the Optimistic People for the Development of Mozambique (Podemos) party, whose national representative for the legislative and provincial lists, Paulo Guambe, was also in the vehicle targeted by the crime.
The general elections of October 9 included the seventh presidential elections - in which the current head of state, Filipe Nyusi, has no longer run, having reached the limit of two terms - simultaneously with the seventh legislative elections and the fourth for provincial assemblies and governors.
The CNE has 15 days after the polls close to announce the official election results, which is set for October 24. The Constitutional Council will then be responsible for announcing the results, after it has also concluded its analysis of any appeals, but there is no set deadline for this purpose.
The district and provincial election commissions have already completed the vote count for the general elections on October 9, which, according to public announcements, give an advantage to the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo, the ruling party) and the presidential candidate supported by the party, Daniel Chapo, with over 60% of the votes, although presidential candidate Venâncio Mondlane disputes these results, citing data from the original voting minutes and notices, which he collects from all over the country.
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