The presidential candidate and president of the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM) party, Lutero Simango, revealed today in Maputo that the political grouping is carrying out a parallel vote count.

"The MDM has all the notices and minutes of the polling stations in its possession. At the moment, we are carrying out our parallel count, which is in the order of 80%," he said.

Simango was speaking to the press about the analysis of the results to be made official and shared by the electoral bodies at district and provincial level.

And, he assured, the counts indicate that the party is in a position to secure seats in the Assembly of the Republic. He said that he will present his results of the internal parallel count to Mozambicans. For now, and without giving details, he said that the data in his possession differed from the results being released by CNE/STAE.

He acknowledged that the current electoral process is tainted by manipulation and violations of the law, which is why he will appeal to the courts.

"We have instructed our national commission of jurisdiction to initiate legal proceedings to file the appropriate complaints and contest the elections," he said.

On the other hand, he expressed concern about the arrest, on October 9, of a party member in the district of Ribáuè, in the province of Nampula, named A. José Massaca.

"He was arrested on the orders of the director of the district STAE. He's in the Ribáuè civil prison and hasn't been heard yet. There is a case against him. This is a violation because a member of the polling station has been arrested for not accepting illegal orders," he said.