US embassy cable - 04MAPUTO1585

UNCLAS MAPUTO 001585 
 
SIPDIS 
MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP 
SENSITIVE 
FOR AF/FO AND AF/S 
MCC PASS TO BRIGGS AND GAULL 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KDEM, MZ, Elections 04 
SUBJECT: MOZAMBICAN GENERAL ELECTIONS: PROVINCIAL 
TABULATION DELAYED 
 
REF: MAPUTO 1572 AND PREVIOUS 
 
Not for Internet Distribution 
 
1. (U) Although the provincial vote tabulation should have 
begun December 3, as of December 6, it had started in only 
Nampula, Zambezia and Sofala provinces. According to 
National Elections Commission (CNE) spokesman Filipe 
Mondlate, data entry and tabulation should begin December 7 
in another two -- Gaza and Inhambane -- and Maputo city. 
Mondlate attributed delays to continuing heavy rains, 
particularly in the north of the country, as well as issues 
with installation of tabulation software. By law, provincial 
tabulation must be completed by Thursday, December 9. 
Considering these widespread delays, it is unlikely this 
deadline will be met. (Comment: Missing the deadline will 
not be considered a major issue and will not jeopardize the 
election. End Comment.) As of early afternoon on December 7, 
tabulation had not yet begun at the national level. 
 
2. (U) The CNE also announced on December 6 its decision not 
to reschedule voting in areas where polling stations did not 
open due to delays in delivery of voting materials because of 
heavy downpours. The CNE said that the law only permitted 
rescheduling in situations in which voting had been 
interrupted, and it also noted the relatively small number of 
voters affected. This decision will affect 24,943 registered 
voters in 43 polling stations in Tete and Cabo Delgado 
provinces. 
 
3. (SBU) While it appears clear that Guebuza has won handily, 
international election observers remain concerned about the 
reclassification of initially invalid votes (nulos). In 
1999, roughly ten percent of votes were nulos, with roughly 4 
percent ultimately reclassified as valid. If the percentages 
are similar this year, there could be approximately 350,000 
nulos and 140,000 could be reclassified. Observers from the 
European Union, the Carter Center and other international 
missions were called to the CNE on December 6 to witness the 
start of the reconsideration process. However, according to 
an EU mission source, observers were provided an explanation 
of the process and then asked to leave before the 
reconsideration began. Reconsideration is being carried out 
by teams of two officials, one each representing FRELIMO and 
RENAMO. The source also stated that the CNE did not plan to 
provide a final report on the reclassification process, 
including what criteria were used, as requested by the 
observer missions (ref B). 
 
4. (SBU) It also remains unclear to what extent the CNE will 
accomodate the desire of the EU and the Carter Center for the 
CNE to make public the reasons for its decisions on polling 
station results excluded at the provincial level. These 
decisions are not expected to begin until later this week. 
LA LIME