Mozambican civil society organizations are criticizing the approval of the revised electoral law, which removed the competence of district courts to order a recount of votes in the event of irregularities during the ballot.

The electoral package was approved last Thursday, the last day of the Assembly of the Republic's activities in the current legislature, after being returned by the head of state for re-examination.

For civil society, the act represents a position that does not contribute to the transparency and credibility of the electoral process in the country.

In a NewsThe Mais Integridade Electoral Consortium, which represents organizations that work in socio-political activism, says that, from the reflection made on the viability of this rule, it is concluded that this is a step backwards and annihilates part of the legal achievements that Mozambique has had.

For the president of this organization, Edson Cortez, the courts are extremely important players in the management of electoral disputes and illicit acts because they guarantee impartiality, which is why he considers the withdrawal of this competence to be ill-timed, as it will increase political distrust.

"We were surprised by the decision to remove the competence of district courts to order recounts of votes. We consider this action to be a significant step backwards for electoral justice in Mozambique, weakening the capacity to ensure transparency and fairness in elections and jeopardizing the democratic advances that have been achieved," said Cortez.

In the same publication, Cortez also points out that, before making it possible to change this instrument, the Assembly of the Republic should analyze and learn lessons from all the episodes that characterized the local elections held last year, so as not to reproduce the mistakes made and safeguard electoral justice.

"We don't understand this action, especially after everything we experienced in 2023. The electoral bodies behaved in a very questionable way and the Constitutional Council was not well regarded, it was supposed to create more conditions this time so that this ballot would be different," he said.

Mais Integridade also defends the need to include different actors in the spheres of discussion on electoral processes and their legislation. At the same time, it believes that it is urgent to restore the jurisdiction of the district courts as a way of preventing new phenomena that disturb stability.