US embassy cable - 05MAPUTO113

UNCLAS MAPUTO 000113 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
AF/FO AND AF/S - TREGER 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KDEM, MZ, Elections 04, Guebuza 
SUBJECT: MOZAMBICAN ELECTIONS: CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL 
DECLARES GUEBUZA WINNER 
 
REF: MAPUTO 51 AND PREVIOUS 
Sensitive but Unclassified - handle accordingly. Not for 
internet distribution. 
 
1. (U) Summary: Mozambique's Constitutional Council, the 
review body charged with validating election results, 
formally declared Armando Guebuza, the FRELIMO (ruling 
party) candidate, the winner of the race for president. 
Additionally, the Council validated FRELIMO's win of 160 
seats in the National Assembly, with 90 seats for the main 
opposition coalition parties, RENAMO-UE. RENAMO leader 
Afonso Dhlakama has backed down from his threat to boycott 
the Assembly. The first seating of the new Assembly will 
be on January 31, followed by Guebuza's presidential 
inauguration on February 2. End Summary. 
 
2. (U) On January 20 Mozambique's Constitutional Council 
proclaimed FRELIMO secretary-general Armando Guebuza the 
winner of the December 1-2, 2004 election for president, 
with 64 percent of the vote. RENAMO's Afonso Dhlakama was 
runner-up, with 32 percent (and three other candidates 
received the remaining votes). In the National Assembly, 
FRELIMO increased its presence by garnering 160 seats, up 
from its current number of 133. RENAMO's tally dropped 
from 117 down to 90 Assembly seats. 
 
3. (SBU) The results given by the Council, which are final, 
mirror earlier figures announced on December 21 by the 
National Elections Commission (CNE). In its ruling, 
despite acknowledging "irregularities" in the vote, the 
Council said it did not alter the CNE results because it 
did not receive a complaint from RENAMO or others on time. 
Since all parties missed the deadlines specified by law, 
the Council could do nothing, "however obvious or notorious 
the irregularities." (Comment: Most observers believe 
voting and counting problems in the elections had little 
effect on Dhlakama's poor showing and, at most, cost the 
party only three or four seats in the Assembly. End 
Comment.) RENAMO politicians retorted that the CNE missed 
by nearly a week its obligation to report results "within 
14 days of the election," but otherwise did not challenge 
the Council's view. 
 
4. (U) Declining to intervene to alter the outcome, the 
Council nonetheless issued a series of recommendations for 
future elections. First on its list is the need to have a 
single, consolidated voter registration list (in 2004 there 
were three separate lists). Other remedies track closely 
with advice given by national and international election 
observation groups. The recommendations are not binding on 
the government, however. 
 
5. (U) Following the Council's validation of the election 
results, RENAMO retreated from its threat to boycott the 
National Assembly. In a January 21 statement Dhlakama said 
that out of respect for the Mozambican people RENAMO would 
take its seats. 
 
6. (U) The new National Assembly will hold its first 
session on January 31. President-elect Guebuza will be 
inaugurated on February 2. 
LALIME