Three policy briefs on elections and political parties were published during the period under review, the policy briefs had massive impact and were thus reprinted by the three leading independent newspapers in the country, namely SAVANA, Canal de Moçambique and A Carta.
More specifically, the policy briefs covered the following topics: "The challenges of the new National Electoral Commission in the context of the authoritarian regime in Mozambique", "Political funding, one of the antidotes of the Mozambican democracy" and "Democracy in Mozambique after the death of Afonso Dhlakama and Daviz Simango: Imminent risks of collapse of opposition parties?"
Following the publication of those policy briefs, webinars to discuss their content were convened, involving their authors (EISA staff), leaders of political parties, academics and election experts. The policy briefs are available on: EISA's Mozambique Publications
Participação polÍtica, comunicação pública e liderança juvenil em Moçambique, 2021
Estudo de Base sobre a participação e engajamento da juventude em processos polÍticos em Moçambique, Apr 2021
EISA published three booklets, one on Electoral Litigation for Political Parties and another on How to Cover Elections, used, respectively, as tools in the training of lawyers and paralegals of the parliamentary political parties (FRELIMO, RENAMO and MDM) and journalists (see and Manual Prático do Contencioso Eleitoral para os Partidos Políticos and Manual para a Cobertura Jornalística das Eleições em Moçambique). A third publication, Pacote de Legislação Eleitoral e dos Órgãos de Governação Descentralizada (A Compilation of the Electoral Laws), was be used in the 2019 electoral elections.
The publications were well received by the legal and media community. For example, the head of the Constitutional Council, Dr Lúcia Ribeiro, requested 10 copies of the manual on for herself and the other judges, as there id shortage of electoral doctrine produced in and about Mozambique.
From 22 April 2019 EISA Mozambique published eight election reviews, in the form of newsletter Uma publcação semanal sobre o processo eleitoral de 2019 em Moçambique (See "2019 National and Provincial elections" in Mozambique: Election observation reports and statements). With analytical articles drafted by its country director and programme officers, they provided rigorous and objective analysis to aspects that emerged from the observation to the voters' registration, as per CSO reports sent to popola. The newsletters also provided analysis on constitutional and electoral law aspects, from a didactic perspective. The newsletter was published every Monday morning and distributed to all relevant stakeholders (including CNE and STAE), by email, and to the general public, thorough EISA's website and Facebook.
The election review had a very positive receptance by the general public, media and a huge impact in the various circles, including donor community, as the following examples substantiate:
Information dissemination by EISA, on the recently approved constitutional amendments and municipal legislation, included the development of a digital booklet for civil society organisations and the organisation of public information workshops with CSOs on these issues, which particularly aimed at women, youth, people with disabilities, and religious groups.
Throughout the year, EISA Mozambique provided extensive analysis and advice on electoral matters to Election Management Bodies, the donor community and the general public, and was present regularly in the print and broadcast media providing commentary on electoral matters.
EISA organised a public presentation and a series of media appearances by Elisabete Azevedo, a Portuguese scholar attached to the University of Cape Town who wrote a working paper of the Mozambican Parliament and the Mozambican Members of Parliment (MPs). This study was the first of its kind in that it contained a profile of the Mozambican MPs based on in-depth interviews with 20% of the Mozambican MPs on the basis of a stratified random sample. The presentation was well-received and well-attended with over 70 participants, including the chairs of five parliamentary committees. Ms. Azevedo was then interviewed by a number of newspapers and radio stations and appeared on two TV shows. Her study has been published as an EISA working paper: The Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique: From enemies to adversaries?.
The Mozambican office of EISA hosted a presentation by Dr Elisabete Azevedo, followed by public debate, on "The Profile of the Mozambican Parliament and the Mozambican MP: From enemies to political adversaries?" in Maputo on 26 May 2009. Around 70 people attended the presentation, including ten senior MPs. Two MPs, the rapporteur of the majority Frelimo bench and a former Renamo minority whip, were discussants.
The presentation received wide media interest and coverage. She was interviewed by a number of TV channels, radio stations, and print media, as this was one of the first studies of this nature on the Mozambican Parliament. Her study of the Mozambican Parliament began in 2005 as part of her PhD dissertation research and was concluded in 2008. She conducted qualitative interviews with MPs, staff, journalists, academics and civil society representatives, in addition to the review of parliamentary documents and studies, and direct observation of the functioning of the Parliament. She also conducted an in depth quantitative survey of 50 MPs through a random, stratified sample.
Elisabete Azevedo, a Portuguese national with considerable Africa experience, has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Cape Town and is a researcher for UCT and the Catholic University of Lisbon.
Throughout the year, EISA provided, on a continuous manner, analysis and advice on electoral matters to the Election Management Bodies, the donor community and the general public through several media events on TV, radio and the print media. In particular, EISA provided intense analysis on the Zimbabwe electoral process through the Mozambican media and public debates.
EISA, in collaboration with the Mozambican Institute for Socio-Economic Studies (IESE) and the Comparative National Elections Project (CNEP), organised a series of three public debates on electoral participation/abstention with a focus on Mozambique. The topics addressed in the debates were: "The Electoral Cartography of Mozambique" by Luís de Brito from IESE, "The determining factors of the vote in Mozambique" by João Pereira from IESE and "Post-election surveys in new democracies" by Pedro Magalhães from the Portuguese Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon. The debates were well-attended and generated good media coverage.
The Documentation Centre on Elections and Democracy (CDED) continued to function and expand. The Centre's database registered around 500 titles by the end of 208. The Centre has received an average of two visitors a day, mainly from the university community, with attendance peaking during specific periods of academic activity, such as exams and dissertation writing. The full-time librarian assigned to the Centre was responsible for all acquisitions and management of the Centre. The Centre provided increased public access to quality and updated knowledge and information on democracy, governance and electoral processes. The Centre acquired more than 500 titles with more than 500 users accessing this information.
EISA provided continuous analysis and advice on electoral matters to the CNE and the STAE, the donor community and the general public. In this respect, EISA consistently and pro-actively advocated, through the media (such as local TV stations and international media like BBC radio), for a constitutional amendment to allow the postponement of provincial elections, initially scheduled for 16 January 2008, arguing that the time available to prepare for the elections did not allow for a technically efficient process and adequate voter mobilisation. The first real indication of a disastrous process was the fact that after 20 days (out of a total of 60) of voter registration only 5% of the potential electorate had been registered. As a result of public pressure, the ruling party, Frelimo, announced on 17 October 2007 that it would seek a constitutional amendment to postpone the election. The amendment was passed the following month.
EISA finalised the setting up of the Documentation Centre on Elections and Democracy (CDED), namely furnishing it, putting in place the necessary IT infrastructure and software and acquiring materials, such as books, reports, magazines, journals and other documents. The CDED was officially jointly inaugurated by the Vice-Chancellor of Instituto Superior de Ciências e Tecnologia de Moçambique (ISCTEM) and Chair of the National Elections Commission (CNE), Professor João Leopoldo da Costa, and the EISA Country Director for Mozambique, Miguel de Brito, in July 2007. The CDED has produced its first catalogue of available documentation which has been distributed to all higher learning and research institutions in Maputo. The Centre also requested those institutions to send copies of reports and publications produced by them on issues of democracy, governance and elections. At the end of 2007 the CDED held more than 400 titles.
In 2006, an agreement was signed with the Higher Institute of Science and Technology of Mozambique (SCTEM), a private University, to host the Centre and eventually take over its management. Equipment and furniture for the Centre were purchased and the first set of publications were aquired. A librarian was hired and trained and began to develop a database for the Centre.
Sep 2005
EISA published a report of the survey on Voting Behaviour in Mozambique for the 2004 General Elections, Formação do voto e comportamento eleitoral dos Moçambicanos em 2004, conducted by EISA in partnership with Centre for Population Studies (CEP) from Eduardo Mondlane University in 2005 under the Comparative National Elections Project (CNEP). The study was made possible with the financial support of Austria Cooperation for Development through Austria Institute for Cooperation North-South.
The report consists of five sections: After a brief description of the methodology used, the first section presents some findings on the socio-economic perceptions of voters. This is followed by a section on access to information, the role of the media and citizen awareness levels of, and interest in, politics. The third section examines the role played by Mozambican institutions and social networks in forming political opinion among the electorate. The fourth section presents an assessment of the democratic system by the voters and finally, the fifth section analyses voting behaviour and provides an evaluation of the electoral process in Mozambique.
In 2005 a third component was added to EISA Mozambique's work - to promote knowledge and debate on elections, governance and democracy through the establishment of a documentation centre. The establishment of a documentation centre had three main objectives: to create a specialised centre on elections and democracy where students, political parties, reserchers and the public in general can find up-to-date literature and documentation; to encourage new research and, knowledge and publications; and to promote public debate on key democracy issues in Mozambique.
EISA Mozambique was also involved with the dissemination of the regional Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation (PEMMO) in Mozambique. EISA organised a national launch of PEMMO in its Portuguese version and distributed it widely to election stakeholders. EISA also trained domestic observers on how to use the PEMMO to assess the election in Mozambique. Furthermore EISA distributed the principles to all domestic and international election observers during the 2004. EISA also produced handbooks on electoral legislation, in English and Poruguese and a Guide for the Election Observer for citizen observers.
