Decentralising Fraud: New Models of Electoral Manipulation during the 2019 General Elections in Mozambique

Based on observation of the 2019 legislative, presidential and provincial elections in Mozambique, this article uncovers and examines models applied by the Frelimo regime in manipulating elections. Through interviews with local actors involved in the management of the election process, as well as in producing electoral observation reports and conducting on-site observation for electoral procedures, the article shows that manipulation of the 2019 elections in Mozambique moved from institutional spaces, where it has traditionally occurred, to local spaces. The actors and the spaces used to materialise fraud were modified, thereby making the fraud ‘invisible’ to both election observers and even to many within opposition political parties. Through analysis of raw data collected from the 2019 elections, we suggest that understanding the technology and tools used for electoral manipulation in authoritarian regimes, particularly in Mozambique, necessitates a longer view of the voter registration process in its political and institutional context.