Election Preparations Proceeding Smoothly

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LUSAKA 001188

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ZA
SUBJECT: Election Preparations Proceeding Smoothly

REFS: A) LUSAKA 1183; B) LUSAKA 1101; C) LUSAKA 1054


1. (SBU) Summary: The Electoral Commission of Zambia continues to
respond thoroughly to concerns of stakeholders as it proceeds with
ballot printing oversight, organizes distribution of ballots and
other materials to polling stations, establishes conflict management
mechanisms, and handles accreditation of observers and monitors.
Foreign Mission cooperating partners remain impressed with the
even-handed and capable performance of ECZ Chairperson Justice Irene
Mambilima. The ECZ appears to be doing everything within its power
to eliminate opportunities for election malfeasance and ensure voter
confidence; however, it faces challenges in enforcing balance and
objectivity in coverage by the state-owned print and electronic
media. End summary.

Introduction


2. (U) Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) Chairperson Justice
Irene Mambilima met with Chiefs of Mission and other diplomats on
August 29 to provide another of her regular updates on Zambian
election preparations. UNDP Resident Representative Aeneas Chuma
provided a brief status report on the activities undertaken with the
support of the Elections Trust Fund. Participants in the meeting
asked the Chairperson about uneven media coverage of party
activities, the lack of presidential debates, pending public opinion
surveys, and the ECZ's decision not to offer special voting
provisions to local monitors.

Nominations Finalized; Female Representation Weak


3. (U) ECZ Chairperson Justice Mambilima reiterated that five
nominees registered to contest the Presidency (Ref B) during the
August 11-14 registration period. She commented on a minor
controversy over the United Democratic Alliance candidacy, due to
its being a coalition rather than a registered political party, and
explained that the ECZ resolved the matter by asking members of the
parties in the coalition to send letters to endorse the coalition
candidate.


4. (U) Justice Mambilima said that 709 candidates had registered to
compete for 150 seats in the National Assembly, and the male-female
breakdown among candidates was 603-106 (about 15 percent female
participation). For local councilor positions, 4,095 candidates
registered, with the male-female breakdown at 3,708 - 387,
representing less than 10 percent female participation. The
Chairperson commented on the large number of independent candidates
running in National Assembly and local elections, and attributed
this trend to what she termed the "confusion" among political
parties in choosing nominees (reftels). The ECZ collected a total
of Kwacha 761.6 million (about US$ 200,000) in nomination fees.
Justice Mambilima again defended the Kw 20 million (just over US$
5,000) nomination fee imposed on presidential candidates, noting
that despite complaints from some aspiring candidates, the sum was
agreed upon by a consensus among stakeholders.


5. (U) The ECZ will make a copy of the full set of voter rolls in
color (the rolls contain voters' photos) available to each of the
five presidential candidates. The ECZ will also provide National
Assembly and local government candidates with a free copy of the
voter roll for their respective constituency or ward. The voter
rolls will also be available for purchase.

Ballot Printing and Distribution Logistics


6. (U) Justice Mambilima noted that the printing of ballot papers
was underway in Durban by South African contractor Universal
Printing. ECZ officers, representatives from civil society, media,
the Anti-Corruption Commission, Zambian Police, and each of the five
parties fielding presidential candidates traveled to Durban to
observe the ballot printing process. Monitoring of the process
promoted maximum transparency, and was a conscious effort to
minimize the contentiousness of ballot printing and distribution
issues related to the 2001 election, she said.


7. (U) The ECZ asked that the first tranche of printing be done for
ballots to be used in hard-to-reach, remote areas of Zambia. These
ballots should be available to the ECZ by September 10 for early
delivery to the remote locations by both air and road. The ECZ will
use a hangar at the Lusaka Airport to pack and seal up ballot papers
for delivery. The ECZ is also trying to preposition various
election materials, including ballot boxes, tables, chairs, and
booths, as early in advance as possible, using ECZ trucks and
Zambian Air Force planes for delivery.

Election Observers and Monitors


8. (U) Justice Mambilima introduced the technical advisors engaged
by the UNDP Elections Trust Fund, Marco Hasselaar and Dinah Kayumba,
to assist the ECZ with the coordination of the accreditation of
international observers, and training and support for observers.
She confirmed that Zambians who are accredited under foreign

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Missions will be considered as international observers. She said
the ECZ expected at least 200 international observers from the EU,
Commonwealth, SADC and local diplomatic Missions. She added that
the ECZ had received over 2,400 applications from local monitors to
date.

Voter Education and Awareness


9. (U) The Chairperson reported that voter education field
activities are due to be completed by September 15. The ECZ
continues to use community radio, TV, national radio, and print
media for publicity and voter education programs. The ECZ is
working through the Zambia National Information Service to provide
mobile election "road shows" in all 72 districts around the country.


Training, Conflict Management and Electoral Code of Conduct


10. (U) The ECZ Chairperson reported that district level conflict
management committees were established and trained to address
complaints, which had already been received from the Eastern
Province. The Electoral Institute of Southern Africa provided the
conflict management training for trainers drawn from NGOs, Zambian
Police, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Ministry of Justice.
Justice Mambilima said the ECZ held consultative workshops with
judges from the Supreme Court, High Court, Industrial Relations
Court, and Police, all of whom play a key role in the electoral
process. The training for police officers involved extensive
deliberations of the Public Order Act. Members of the print and
electronic media also received training on election reporting and
the electoral process, and the ECZ continues to liaise with the
Press Association of Zambia and its committees in provincial centers
around the country.


11. (U) Justice Mambilima stressed that the ECZ will take seriously
and give "due consideration" to all complaints about violations of
the electoral code of conduct. The ECZ will not tolerate breaches,
she stressed. She confirmed that the ECZ has already received
complaints from individuals, candidates and political parties on
violations of the code of conduct and on electoral malpractices.
Regarding a complaint brought against Patriotic Front presidential
candidate Michael Sata (Ref A),Justice Mambilima explained that she
met with Sata on August 25 and they reached a resolution, which will
be announced "soon." She added that she also had briefed the
complainant from the ruling party and said the ECZ thought arresting
candidates in response to complaints would be counterproductive -
her preferred response is to investigate and follow up with both
sides to seek amicable resolution.


12. (U) The Chairperson also referred to media reports that all
police officers were asked to provide their voter registration card
details, and explained that a miscommunication may have occurred as
a result of ECZ logistics planning. The ECZ wished to ensure that
one uniformed police officer would be assigned at every polling
station, and in order to verify the officers' voter registration,
the Commission had requested particulars of those officers who will
be assigned to polling station duty. She said she will ask the
media to inform the public that they have no obligation to give
their voter registration information to anyone, and that they should
report any efforts to collect such information to the police or to
the district conflict management committee.

UNDP Fund Support to Women Candidates, Observer Missions


13. (U) United Nations Development Program Resident Representative
Aeneas Chuma reported that the UNDP Elections Trust Fund's funding
level was $8 million. Current efforts supported by the Fund include
voter and civic education by over 650 facilitators in communities
around Zambia and support for media campaigns. The Fund is
assisting aspiring female candidates through training programs
offered by the national Women's Lobby Group. The UNDP Fund is also
supporting an accreditation secretariat whose technical advisors
(para 8) will assist international observers.

Other Concerns: Special Vote, Media, Debates, Polls


14. (U) Justice Mambilima reconfirmed the ECZ decision to forego
organizing a "special vote" (along the lines of an absentee vote)
for local monitors and others unable to be present at their
designated polling station, explaining that the special vote
provision was part of the new electoral law that was only recently
passed, leaving the ECZ insufficient time to make adequate
provisions for such a vote. She distinguished the special vote
provisions from what she called "administrative" arrangements to
enable police officers who will be on official duty at specified
polling stations to vote. The Chairperson said the ECZ will
encourage the groups sponsoring local monitors to do their best to
limit the disenfranchisement of monitors.


15. (U) Cooperating partner representatives at the meeting raised
continuing concerns about uneven media coverage and asked about

LUSAKA 00001188 003 OF 003


prospects for presidential debates. Justice Mambilima disclosed
that the ECZ was monitoring overall media coverage of candidates and
parties, and had received specific complaints about disproportionate
coverage of the ruling party's activities by the national
broadcaster on particular days. She added that she had just met
with public media chiefs to reinforce the importance of balanced
coverage.


16. (U) Justice Mambilima said that National Assembly and local
government candidates were actively engaging in debates around the
country, but no formal debate among presidential candidates was
planned. Instead, the ECZ is working to develop and disseminate
profiles of the presidential candidates and their policies in the
Zambian media. A Norwegian representative also announced that two
more voter opinion polls (Ref C) would be released before the
election: one was carried out during August and would be released
very soon, and another would be conducted in September and released
shortly before the election. No exit polls are planned, due to
insufficient resources.


17. (SBU) Comment: At the conclusion of the meeting, foreign
Mission representatives voiced appreciation and praise for the
leadership of Justice Mambilima and the professionalism with which
she and members of the ECZ carried out their duties. The ECZ has
responded to stakeholder concerns thoroughly and comprehensively.
The area where the ECZ still appears not to have much authority is
in media coverage, which remains unbalanced. State print and
electronic media also remains biased in favor of the ruling party,
and there seems to be little that the ECZ can do to change this.

PASSEN