Electoral agents in Maputo and elsewhere in Mozambique are threatening to boycott the October 9 general elections. The issue is the non-payment of due salaries and other allowances under the contract signed with the National Electoral Commission (CNE)..

According to a Radio France International (RFI)The electoral agents, who prefer not to be identified, warn that the situation could jeopardize next week's vote if their salaries are not paid.

"We're entitled to allowances, but we haven't seen them for three months. There are allowances for voting, allowances for registration, so far we haven't seen anything, but registration is long overdue," said one of the agents, in the same publication.

"We're not going to leave any kit with a ballot paper at the polling station until we've satisfied our right to be paid the 13th and monthly allowances," said another.

The warning was made at a time when Renamo is reacting critically to the Constitutional Council's ruling that dismissed the party's petition on ballot boxes deemed unsuitable for use in elections with a larger slot.

"We condemn this stance by the Constitutional Council because it is a harbinger of what is understood to be the Constitutional Council's recurring practice that irregularities in the electoral process do not alter the rule of the election results," said Marcial Macome, Renamo's spokesman.

The ballot boxes to be used in the voting process, according to electoral legislation, must be transparent, with a slot that allows the insertion of a single ballot paper per voter.

(Photo DR)