LocationsPartnership agreement ensures digital platform to verify data of presidential candidates' supporters
May 17, 2024
As part of the Democracy and Elections project, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Constitutional Council and Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Friday morning (17.05) for the development of a digital platform to verify the data of the candidates' supporters for the 2024 Presidential Elections.
The agreement was signed by the UNDP Resident Representative, Mr Edo Stork, the Rector of Eduardo Mondlane University, Dr Manuel Guilherme Júnior, and the President of the Constitutional Council in Mozambique, Dra Lúcia Ribeiro.
In accordance with prevailing legislation, it is mandatory for each presidential candidate participating in the General Elections to submit a minimum of 10,000 signatures of supporters to the Constitutional Council as part of the candidacy requisites.
Recognizing the pivotal role of this process in ensuring fair and transparent elections, UNDP Democracy and Elections project, Constitutional Council, and UEM have joined synergies to develop a software that will simplify, innovate and fortify the verification process for these supporting documents. The platform will be developed with stringent security standards to safeguard the integrity and confidentiality of supporter data.
The partnership between the UNDP, Constitutional Council, and UEM underscores a shared commitment to fostering democracy and good governance in Mozambique. Through this collaboration, we are confident of delivering an effective and reliable technological solution to aid in the democratic process of the 2024 General Elections.
The process dates back to 2019, in a tripartite partnership (UNDP, Constitutional Council and EMU), within the framework of the last general elections, initiated at the request of the Constitutional Council with the aim of strengthening the means of verifying supporters' signatures and the authenticity of the documents presented by the presidential candidates for their nomination.
In the light of the Memorandum, witnessed by the Venerable President of the Constitutional Council, Dr Lúcia Ribeiro, the Eduardo Mondlane University, through its Computer Centre (CIUEM), is committed to allocating specialists to develop the software to automate the verification of signatures. For its part, the UNDP, through its Democracy and Elections project, is providing general technical support for the initiative, including guidance on software development and the allocation of various IT equipment, such as computers, printers and scanners.
On the occasion, the Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme, Mr Edo Stork, said that "this initiative innovates the signature verification phase, which in the past was carried out manually, thus eliminating all the risks of inaccuracies typical of a manual operation."
Budgeted at just over 5 million meticais, the consultancy runs from 17 May to 17 August 2024.
Note to Editors:
About the project:
- "Strengthening Democracy and Electoral Processes in Mozambique" is a four-year UNDP project designed to strengthen the democratic and electoral system in Mozambique and builds on previous electoral support and lessons learnt as the country enters its electoral cycle, including the period leading up to the 2023 Municipal Elections and the 2024 General Elections.
- The UNDP Democracy and Elections project was developed based on the formal request of the Government of Mozambique, the recommendation of the Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) conducted by the United Nations in April 2021, the reports of international electoral observers on the 2019 elections, and is aligned with the UNDP Country Programme Document (CPD) and the Government of Mozambique's Five-Year Plan 2020-2024 (Programa Quinquenal do Governo, PQG).
About UNDP
- UNDP works in 170 countries and territories to eradicate poverty and reduce inequality. We help countries develop policies, leadership skills, partnership skills, institutional capacities and build resilience to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Our work is centred on three focus areas; sustainable development, democratic governance and peacebuilding, and climate and disaster resilience.
Mission and vision
- UNDP's mandate is to end poverty, build democratic governance, rule of law and inclusive institutions. We advocate for change and connect countries to the knowledge, expertise and resources to help people build a better life.
For more information:
- Mateus Fotine. Tel: +258 879880203, mateus.fotine@undp.org - Communications and Visibility Officer
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