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
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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
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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
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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