cent in 2004. Turnout at local elections has been equally low. During the 1998
elections, turnout was poor because of the boycott campaign organised by RENAMO and its allies to protest their dissatisfaction with the preparations leading up to the elections. In 2003, turnout was only 28 per cent. 14 It is important
for Mozambique to recapture the vibrancy of political party competition and
the large voter turnouts that characterised the early years of its multiparty democracy. This will more closely associate larger proportions of the population
with the democratic system and, by implication, strengthen its legitimacy.
III. Recommendations
299.
The APR Panel recommends that Mozambique should:
• Institute a national programme of civic education to promote respect for
the rule of law at all levels of government and society [CNE; CPE; MPs;
CSOs];
• Conduct a programme of law review in order to update all outdated laws
and modernise the legal system [MOJ];
• Eliminate discriminatory administrative practices in order to delink state
and party and create a level playing ground for all political parties [Office
of the President; MOJ; CNE];
• Carry out the compilation and revision of the voters’ roll more transparently
in order to instil greater confidence in the electoral process [CNE; Electoral
Observatory]; and
• Handle the collation of election results properly to safeguard the integrity
of the process [CNE; STAE; Electoral Observatory].
Objective 3: To ensure the promotion and protection of economic, social,
cultural and political rights
I. Summary of the CSAR
Civil and Political Rights
300.
The Constitution sets out the rights, duties and fundamental freedoms of
Mozambicans and guarantees important civil, political, economic, social and
cultural rights. According to the CSAR, 77.9 per cent of the respondents interviewed were unaware of the contents of the Constitution, and hence also of
their rights and duties.
301.
Access to justice by the citizenry remains a problem, although efforts have
been made to improve the situation through the recent adoption of the Law
on Judicial Organisation and the Law of the Prosecutor and of the Magistrates.
14
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