Mozambique: Electoral System

Updated January 2006

Note: In February and June of 2007 the Assembly of the Republic passed five new electoral laws. The information on this page will be revised and updated as soon as possible. The new laws and those they replace are:

• Law no 7/2007 of 26 February (governs election of the President and the National Assembly) replaces Electoral Law 7/2004
• Law no 8/2007 26 February (governs the National Electoral Commission) replaces Law no 20/2002
• Law no 9/2007 of 26 February (governs voter registration) replaces Law 18/2002
• Law no 10/2007 of 18 June (governs election of Provincial Assemblies) is a new piece of legislation
• Law no 18/2007 (govern local government elections) is a new piece of legislation

Legal basis[1]	Constitution of Mozambique, 1990 (amended 1994, 2004) Law 20/2002 of 10 October (National Electoral Commission) Law 18/2002 of 10 October (voter registration). Law 9/2003 of 22 October (Constitutional Council) Electoral Law 7/2004 (election of the President and the National Assembly)[1]
Electoral system	Multiparty elections since 1994. Proportional representation for the Assembly of the Republic; 5% entry threshold abolished in 2006[2]. Presidential candidate needs majority of valid votes cast to be elected. If no candidate obtains more than 50% of vote, run-off held where the weakest candidates are eliminated and the candidate who obtains the most votes is elected[3].
Election period	Concurrent Presidential and the Assembly of the Republic elections every 5 years[4].
Electoral institutions	National Electoral Commission (CNE)[5] Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration (STAE)[6]. Provincial electoral commissions[7]. City/district electoral commissions[8]. Constitutional Council[9].
Functions of electoral institutions	CNE: responsible for voter ensuring registration and supervising elections and referenda[10]. STAE: Executive arm of the CNE[11]. Provincial, city and district commissions: To assist CNE in implementing its mandate[12]. Constitutional Council: Supervises electoral process, verifies presidential candidates, hears petition appeals, validates and declares final results[13].
Independence of electoral institutions	Electoral Commission is an independent body subordinate only to the constitution, while the other subordinate organs are answerable to it alone[14]. Constitutional Council appointed by president and parliament in a formula that ensures representation of political parties in Assembly of the Republic[15].
Demarcation	The electoral commission is responsible for delimitation. There are 11 constituencies corresponding to the 10 provinces and the city of Maputo returning a total of 248 MPs while expatriates in Europe and Africa return 1 member each. The numbe rof seats allocated to each constituency is determined afresh for each election based on the proportion of voters registered in each[16].
Voter registration	Registration compulsory, permanent voters' roll updated annually by STAE under supervision of CNE[16]. Voters must present acceptable identification document (Valid identification includes birth certificates, passports, and any legal document with photograph, thumbprint or signature of previous voter card) or identified by two witness registered as voters in area. A voter's card is issued.[17].
Voter education	CNE responsible through promoting civic education through organs of civic society and the mass media[18]. Executed through co-operation between electoral commission, state media and NGOs[19].
Nomination of candidates	Presidential: Nominations of parties or party coalitions submitted to Constitutional Council 60 days before election day, while candidates nominated by citizens must be endorsed by 10 000 voters[20]. Legislature candidates are nominated by parties or coalitions on lists submitted to the CNE. The CNE ensures the eligibility of candidates[21].
Funding of political parties	Campaigns funded by state according to the existing representation of parties and the number of candidates standing. Money allocated by CNE[22]. Funding by foreign governments, by NGOs or state owned corporations prohibited[23]. Private donations, foreign or local permitted[24].
Election campaign	Campaigning starts 45 days before election day and ends 48 hours before it[25]. Opinion polls prohibited from beginning of campaigning until CNE publishes results[26]. The CNE issues a code of conduct for political parties[27].
Communication	CNE empowered to allocate time equally on state broadcasting media[28].
Counting	Counting takes place immediately after close of polls, in polling stations by presiding officer, under the observation of polling officers, candidate/party agents and observers[29].
Announcement of results	Results are published immediately, publicly after count, copies given to candidates or agents. Then are transmitted to city/district electoral commission, through provincial commission to CNE. Final results must be made public within 15 days after polls close[30].
Conflict resolution	Petitions are made to the CNE within two days of the results being published. Appeals against decisions made by the CNE are made to the Constitutional Council within three days of the decision being published and must be decided on within 5 days[31].
Election monitoring	The CNE accredits domestic and foreign monitors and observers, as well as party observers and issues codes of conduct binding on them[32].

Table notes

[1] EISA 2004a, 1, 3, 6.
[2] The electoral system for the parliamentary election is based on party-list proportional representation. There are eleven constituencies, corresponding to the 10 provinces in the country and the city of Maputo. These constituencies send representatives to the Assembly in proportion to the number of registered voters they have (Law 7/04 2004, 149-157).
[3] Constitution of Mozambique 1990, Article 118.
[4] Constitution of Mozambique 1990, Articles 118 4 and 134 3.
[5] Law 20/02 2002, 1-3.
[6] Law 20/02 2002, 28-36.
[7] Law 20/02 2002, 23.
[8] Law 20/02 2002, 23.
[9] Constitution of Mozambique 1990, Articles 181-184.
[10] Law 20/02 2002, 2.
[11] Law 20/02 2002, 27 2.
[12] Law 20/02 2002, 26. This article gives a detailed list of functions they must perform.
[13] Constitution of Mozambique 1990, Article 181 2.
[14] Law 20/02 2002, 3, 28, 26 2. However, complaints about the CNE are submitted to the Constitutional Council (Law 20/02, op cit, Article 8).
[15] Mozambique News Agency (2002) reported: "In the final version [of Law 9/2003] the chairperson is appointed by the President, and ratified by the Assembly. Five judges are chosen by the Assembly on a proportional basis, and those five then co-opt the seventh member of the Council".
[16] Law 7/04 2004, 149, 150.
[16] Law 18/02 2002, 2 3, 7, 12, 19.
[17] Law 18/02 2002, 21, 24.
[18] Law 20/02 2002, 7 1. h), j).
[19] Law 7/04 2004, 32.
[20] Law 7/04 2004, 123-126.
[21] Law 7/04 2004, 158-169.
[22] Law 7/04 2004, 35 2, 36; Law 20/02 2002, 7 1. v). According to the EISA (2004b): "One third [of public funding] is given to those parties that won seats in the national assembly from the last election. Another third is given to those parties or candidates whose candidature has been accepted for the proposed legislative election. The last portion in divided amongst the persons whose candidature has been accepted for the upcoming Presidential election".
[23] Law 7/04 2004 35 3.
[24] Law 7/04 2004 35 1., 4.
[25] Law 7/04 2004 18, 34.
[26] Law 7/04 2004 24.
[27] Law 20/02 2002, 7 1. l).
[28] Law 20/02 2002, 7 1. r).
[29] Law 20/02 2002, 83-90, 95.
[30] Law 20/02 2002, 90-91.
[31] Law 20/02 2002, 174-175.
[32] Law 20/02 2002, 7 1. i), m); Law 7/04, 9.

References

CONSTITUTION OF MOZAMBIQUE 1990. For Portuguese see: Constituição da República de Moçambique (incluindo as revisões de 1994 e 2004), [www] http://www.mozambique.mz/pdf/constituicao.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 24 Oct 2007)..

EISA 2004a, Handbook on Mozambique's Electoral Laws - 2004 Election, [www] http://www.idea.int/africa/mozambique/upload/Electoral%20Law%20Handbook%20English%20Final.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 24 Oct 2007). Links to the annexes containing the electoral laws are given below. For Portuguese see [www] http://www.idea.int/elections/upload/MANUAL%20DA%20LEI%20ELEITORAL%202004%20Final.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 24 Oct 2007).

EISA 2004b, Observer Mission report [PDF document]:

LAW 7/04 2004, [www] http://www.idea.int/africa/upload/Moz%20Electoral%20Law%207%202004.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 24 Oct 2007). For Portuguese see EISA 2004 Manual sobre a Legislação Eleitoral de Moçambique - Eleições Gerais de 2004, Anexo 1, 23 - 75, [www] http://www.idea.int/elections/upload/MANUAL%20DA%20LEI%20ELEITORAL%202004%20Final.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 24 Oct 2007).

Law 18/02 2002, [www] http://www.idea.int/africa/upload/Moz%20Electoral%20Law%2018%20Registration%202002.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 24 Oct 2007). For Portuguese see EISA 2004 Manual sobre a Legislação Eleitoral de Moçambique - Eleições Gerais de 2004, Anexo 2, 76 - 90, [www] http://www.idea.int/elections/upload/MANUAL%20DA%20LEI%20ELEITORAL%202004%20Final.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 24 Oct 2007).

LAW 20/02 2002, October 10 [www] http://www.idea.int/africa/upload/Moz%20Electoral%20Law%2020%20CNE%202002.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 24 Oct 2007). For Portuguese see: EISA 2004 Manual sobre a Legislação Eleitoral de Moçambique - Eleições Gerais de 2004, Anexo 3, 91 - 104, [www] http://www.idea.int/elections/upload/MANUAL%20DA%20LEI%20ELEITORAL%202004%20Final.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 24 Oct 2007).

MOZAMBIQUE NEWS AGENCY 2002 "Bill on Constitutional Council passed (Law of 4 December)", IN AIM Reports No 245, December 16, [www] http://www.poptel.org.uk/mozambique-news/newsletter/aim245.html#story7 [opens new window] (accessed 24 Oct 2007).