Cyclones and their effects on the 2019 elections in Mozambique

This case study analyses the effects of the natural disasters on the 2019 legislative, presidential and provincial elections in Mozambique, exploring all the stages of the electoral process from voter registration to campaigning and voting, and all the other aspects inherent to the process. The 2019 presidential, legislative and provincial elections in the country were held in the midst of disasters caused by cyclones Idai and Kenneth, as a result of which schools, power grids and roads were destroyed and people were forced to move to safer locations.

In addition to these emergency management difficulties, the country was facing an economic crisis, which would also have implications for the elections. With no experience in dealing with extreme weather events during an election period, the election authorities were unable to draw up plans to mitigate these disasters and their direct effects on the elections. This study argues that the government’s decision not to postpone key stages of the electoral process despite the occurrence of the extreme weather events had an impact on election organization and citizen participation, and affected the results of the presidential election and the distribution of legislative and provincial seats.