The National Electoral Commission (CNE) is an institution with no decision-making power in electoral processes in Mozambique and is at the service of the ruling party, according to the Mais Integridade electoral consortium.

"The CNE is simply, at a central level, a group of puppets who have absolutely no say in the [electoral] process. We, the Mais Integridade consortium, wasted our time signing a memorandum with people who have absolutely no say in the process."

In these elections, "the Frelimo party has shown itself to be a player and a referee within the process," said Cortês, stressing that in the provinces it is the Frelimo entities, the first secretaries and the heads of the central brigade who are in charge.

"And they were the ones who gave orders when the first numbers started to come out to ban observers from being inside the classrooms, to take photos of the notices, to avoid writing the count on the classroom blackboards," he denounced.

The president of the consortium was outraged by the fact that the electoral bodies had failed to provide plausible conditions for the elections to take place, even allowing electricity to run out during the vote-counting phase.

"If it starts to get dark after 6pm, there have to be lamps and credelec in the school so that people can work and count the votes. This CNE and this STAE are the same ones that have spent millions of dollars on unexplained procurement tenders to rent cars, helicopters, buy machinery and buy cars for CNE/STAE members including its president, but which has not been able to put light bulbs for the counting process in several schools in this country," he criticized.

According to Cortês, Mozambique's electoral bodies lack the will to see free, fair and transparent elections.

"This is a country that, when it comes to drawing up priorities, they are for the leaders instead of the people," he noted, pointing to the fact that public schools are in terrible and shameful condition. "Counting votes with a lamp is a disgrace. That's a disgrace."