UPDATE ON THE COURTS' POSTPONEMENT OF ELECTIONS

UNCLAS LILONGWE 000413 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM PINR MI SUBJECT: UPDATE ON THE COURTS' POSTPONEMENT OF ELECTIONS REF: A. 03 LILONGWE 1202 ¶B. LILONGWE 404 ¶C. LILONGWE 405 ¶D. LILONGWE 400 ¶E. LILONGWE 398 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) In a three-fold ruling on May 16, the High Court ordered that the presidential and parliamentary elections be postponed, that the 1.6 million ballots in excess of the new voters' roll total be given to the High Court, and that President Muluzi stop using state resources to campaign. Since the court's ruling, the elections have been postponed to May 20, the Supreme Court has returned custody of the extra ballots to the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC),and the media and opposition allege that Muluzi is continuing to use state resources to campaign. In a separate May 16 ruling, the High Court dismissed for lack of evidence the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) lawsuit against MEC and state-owned radio and television for coverage biased in favor of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF). END SUMMARY. THE HIGH COURT'S THREE-FOLD RULING -------------- ¶2. (U) The High Court's May 16 ruling on the Mgwirizano Coalition's request to postpone the elections included three orders: one, MEC was ordered to continue verification of the voters' roll through May 19 and to conduct elections between May 20 and May 25 (reftel C); two, MEC was ordered to surrender an appropriate number of ballots to reflect the reduced number of voters on the voters' roll (reftel E); and three, President Muluzi was ordered to stop using state resources in the UDF's campaign for re-election. ¶3. (U) Following the court order, MEC announced on May 16 that the elections will be held on May 20 (reftel C). The change in date will mean the official campaign period ends May 18 at 6:00 AM, and the official results will be announced May 22. ¶4. (U) On the issue of custody of the excess ballots, MEC immediately appealed to retain custody of the ballots and the Supreme Court granted its request (reftel E). Although the Supreme Court did not make a final determination on the appeal, the issue has become moot since MEC will have custody of all ballots through polling day. MEC has determined it will leave ballots, which it began distributing on May 12, in voting centers despite the two-day postponement. ¶5. (U) Citing as evidence weekend campaign visits to Blantyre and Mulanje using state vehicles and helicopters, independent media accuse Muluzi of "ignoring" the High Court's order to discontinue using state resources to campaign. MEDIA BIAS CASE DISMISSED DUE TO LACK OF EVIDENCE -------------- -------------- ¶6. (U) In a separate ruling on May 14, the High Court dismissed the National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) lawsuit against the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) and the state-owned radio and television for coverage biased in favor of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) (reftel D). According to the court ruling, "The courts' decision is limited to the evidence presented before them and most of the affidavits presented by the NDA were mere allegations that were not beefed up by evidence." COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The bias in state-owned radio and television has been well documented by the MEC's Media Monitoring Unit, independent newspapers, and international elections observers. In the ruling, the court stated that the appellants presented insufficient evidence during the case; it did not actually make a judgment on whether a bias existed. Without such a determination, the issue of access to media could feature in a legal challenge of the elections. DOUGHERTY