Mozambique's National Elections Commission (CNE) plans to begin preparations for the 2028 municipal elections in 2027, while continuing to assess the feasibility of holding municipal, legislative, and presidential elections on a single day.
According to Lusa, the intention is set out in the institution's activity plan and budget for 2027, a document that provides for the drafting of a calendar and timetable for the next municipal elections, as well as the submission to the Council of Ministers of a proposal for the voting date.
During the same period, the CNE intends to convene meetings with political parties to discuss the electoral agenda and evaluate the viability of holding all three elections on the same date. The meetings are also expected to address the use of Information and Communication Technologies and Artificial Intelligence in electoral processes, as well as the most appropriate period for conducting voter registration.
The possibility of consolidating the three electoral events into a single day had already featured in the CNE's electoral preparation plan for 2026 and has now been reincorporated into the activities scheduled for the coming year.
Mozambique held municipal elections in October 2023 and general elections — covering legislative and presidential contests — in October 2024. Both processes were marked by strong contestation of the results and months of protests that left approximately 400 people dead, in addition to the destruction of businesses and public infrastructure. The mandates arising from these elections run for five years.
To execute the 2027 activity plan, the CNE has projected an overall budget of €12.2 million. The funds are earmarked to finance the institution's operations, preparation for the municipal elections, the establishment of electoral bodies, training programmes, institutional communications, supervision of voter registration, and other preparatory initiatives.
The document also provides for the elaboration of a medium-term fiscal scenario covering the period from 2028 to 2030, as well as the initiation of procedures for the formation and installation of the electoral bodies responsible for overseeing the next electoral processes.
The CNE also plans to undertake a working visit to Angola to study that country's experience with permanent voter registration — a model being examined as an alternative to the system currently used in Mozambique, which requires a fresh registration exercise ahead of each election.
On the communications front, the institution intends to reactivate the National Press Centre and its official digital platforms, including its website and social media channels. Plans also include the relaunch of the eMonitor+ programme and the creation of a rapid-response team to counter rumours and disinformation related to electoral processes.
The plan further includes training on the use of Artificial Intelligence in the internal and external communications of electoral bodies, with a view to establishing rules and parameters for the institutional use of these tools.
The CNE also aims to hold meetings with journalists to assess media coverage of the 2023 and 2024 elections and identify areas for improvement ahead of future polls, as well as to strengthen the capacity of the provincial and district electoral bodies that will participate in organising the 2028 municipal elections.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/08/04/desenvolvimento-2/cne-avalia-juncao-das-eleicoes-autarquicas-legislativas-e-presidenciais/
