ZAMBIA'S 2006 ELECTION ATTRACTS MANY INTERNATIONAL

UNCLAS LUSAKA 001334

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ZA
SUBJECT: ZAMBIA'S 2006 ELECTION ATTRACTS MANY INTERNATIONAL
OBSERVERS



1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The 2006 Zambian presidential,
parliamentary and local government elections to be held on
September 28 will be viewed by over 400 international
observers, who will be joined by as many as 10,000 local
election
monitors. The strong presence of observers and monitors will
hopefully serve as a deterrent to potential illegal activity.
It also signals strong international and civil society
interest in seeing that Zambia's elections follow established
procedures and inspire voter confidence. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) On September 26, Marco Hasselaar, a UNDP elections
expert assigned to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ)
reported that the ECZ expects to accredit approximately 420
international observers, consisting of both short- and
long-term observers. The long-term observers have been in
place for several weeks already, to observe campaigning and
the electoral process in the lead-up to elections. The
short-term observers intend to participate on election day
only, covering polling stations and results collating centers.


3. (U) Embassy Lusaka is actively involved in this effort,
with 27 election observers representing many of the agencies
present at post. Embassy efforts have been closely
coordinated with other missions, including the United
Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, France,
Norway, Finland and Japan, to ensure seamless and wide
election coverage. The German Embassy will host an
"operations center" on September 29 to collect and assemble
data from each participating mission.


4. (U) The extent of observer participation demonstrates a
strong international interest in the Zambian elections and
democratic processes. The accredited international observers
represent the following organizations:

U.S. Embassy (27)
Canadian High Commission (7)
French Embassy (6)
Japanese Embassy (3)
UK High Commission (16)
Indian High Commission (2)
Irish Embassy (1)
Netherland Embassy (3)
South African High Commission (5)
Botswanan High Commission (4)
Nigerian High Commission (4)
Norwegian Embassy (8)
African Union (20)
Commonwealth (15)
SADC ECF (21)
SADC Parliamentary Forum (44)
SADC Secretariat (52)
EU Commission (134)
Electoral Institute for Southern Africa (16)
COMESA (12)
YWCA (1)
FODEP (a local NGO that has associated international staff)
(7)

The list of 429 accredited international observers also
includes representatives of international media organizations
such as the BBC, AFP, Reuters, Al Jazeera, China News Agency,
Xinhua, and Associated Press.


5. (U) Hasselaar also indicated that as many as 10,000 local
monitors will participate in the elections, with the aim of
having at least one election monitor per polling station.
Given that there will be 6,456 polling stations and 9,314
polling streams, it seems likely that there will be ample
coverage. At the very least, the observers and monitors will
be able to provide a fairly accurate and reliable perspective
on election procedures and practices.


6. (SBU) Comment. President Mwanawasa's choice of a strong
and independent chairperson of the Electoral Commission of
Zambia, Judge Irene Mambilima, has resulted in good faith
efforts to establish a transparent, efficient and democratic
process, one that promotes greater confidence in the results
by Zambian voters. All early indications from observers who
have reviewed ongoing preparations by the ECZ are very
positive.

MARTINEZ