The head of the African Union (AU) Electoral Observation Mission, Bornito de Sousa, this Tuesday (08) praised "the first elections in which there are no weapons" in Mozambique, in reference to this Wednesday's general elections.

According to a Radio France Internationale (RFI)The statements were made during a meeting with the Mozambican Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Verónica Macamo, who today received the heads of the various electoral observation missions, namely from the European Union, the African Union, the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries and the Commonwealth.

On the occasion, the head of the African Union Electoral Observation Mission stressed that these "are the first elections in which there are no weapons".

"We take positive note of the fact that these are the first elections in which there are no weapons in the hands of any party and this is very good, it creates confidence on the part of the citizens of Mozambique. Like everyone else, we hope that the results reflect the feelings of the Mozambican people," said Bornito de Sousa.

The head of Mozambican diplomacy said that "Mozambique joins the African Union's efforts to promote stability on the continent" and recalled that "Mozambique is committed to one of [the AU's] main commitments, which is to promote democracy, peace and stability in the countries of the region through fair, free and transparent elections".

Earlier, Verónica Macamo met with European Union observers and thanked the EU "for its contribution to the fight against terrorism". The minister recalled that the EU's presence in Mozambique "attests to the commitment to the organization's main objectives, particularly the promotion of world peace, supporting the United Nations and other global initiatives to maintain peace, promoting the defence of democracy and encouraging democratic practices and transparent governance".

At the same meeting, the head of the European Union Electoral Observation Mission, Laura Ballarín Cereza, assured that the EU shares an objective with Mozambique, which is "to strengthen Mozambique's democratic development" and recalled that there are 179 observers in total, spread across all the country's provinces, and that the first arrived on September 1st.

"We wanted to underline the European Union's commitment to Mozambique, the relations we have had throughout history and our presence here observing the elections since 1994... We share the same objective of strengthening Mozambique's democratic development," said Laura Cereza.

(Photo DR)