ZAMBIA POLITICAL ROUNDUP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 LUSAKA 001694 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ZA SUBJECT: ZAMBIA POLITICAL ROUNDUP Refs: A) Lusaka 1054 and previous; B) Lusaka 1652; C) Lusaka 1349; D) Lusaka 702 ¶1. (U) Topics Covered: -- United Party for National Development VP Quits -- Liuwa Constituency By-elections -- Charges Against PF Leader Sata Dismissed -- Threat to Ban Political Rallies -- EU Election Observation Mission Final Report Chisanga Quits UPND -------------- ¶2. (U) Patrick Chisanga, the Vice President of the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND),resigned from the party on December 12, saying that he had lost the confidence of UPND President, Hakainde Hichilema. Chisanga recently generated controversy when he said that Hichilema should not automatically be named the United Democratic Alliance (UDA)'s presidential candidate in the 2011 elections. The UPND is the most prominent member of the UDA, which also includes the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) and the United National Independence Party (UNIP). In leaving the party, Chisanga follows other prominent UPND leaders who resigned following the UPND General Assembly, July 13-14, 2006, (Ref A) citing tribalism, harassment, and intolerance for leaders who do not speak the Tonga language of Southern Province. ¶3. (SBU) Comment: Chisanga's departure weakens the UPND's claim that it is a party with national appeal. Chisanga, a Bemba from Northern Province, was the most senior remaining UPND leader from outside Southern Province, UPND's home base. From its inception, UPND has been accused of being a tribal party because it draws the majority of its support and membership from Tongas in Southern Province. Chisanga's presence in its senior ranks gave it a semblance of national identity. Other well-known non-Tonga leaders who left the party prior to the September 28 tripartite elections include former UPND Vice Presidents Sakwiba Sikota and Robert Sichinga, and former UPND Chairman Henry Mtonga, who joined to form the United Liberal Party (ULP). End Comment. Liuwa Constituency Parliamentary By-Election -------------- ¶4. (U) Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) candidate Lubinda Imasiku won the December 7 parliamentary by-election in Liuwa constituency in Western Province with 57 percent of the vote. The by-election was triggered by the October 3 death of MMD Member of Parliament (MP),David Maliwa Kashweka, who was elected in the September 28 tripartite elections. The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate, Shuwanga Nyambe, was the runner-up in the four-candidate race, receiving 28 percent of the vote. ¶5. (SBU) Local NGOs and residents in Liuwa noted a number of campaign abuses in the predominantly rural constituency, which is afflicted by hunger, lack of economic opportunity, and high poverty levels. The ruling MMD capitalized on the region's poverty by distributing food and clothing to the local population during the year preceding the September 28 tripartite elections. During the by-election campaign, the MMD was the only party able to cover the entire large constituency, primarily because the party was able to access government resources, including official vehicles. In order to avoid rules prohibiting the use of government resources in campaigns, sources say that the MMD disguised the vehicles by removing official license plates and replacing them with private number plates. ¶6. (SBU) The ruling party also allegedly coerced voters. At a campaign rally in Liuwa, President Mwanawasa reportedly warned voters that their constituency risked having no development if they voted for any of the opposition candidates. Alternatively, he promised voters that they would receive adequate food supplies, fertilizers and clothing materials if they voted for the MMD candidate. Threat to Ban Political Rallies -------------- ¶7. (U) The government dedicated considerable state media resources to damage control following a widely reported December 15 statement by Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Chrispine Musosha that the GRZ had requested the police to "stop issuing permits for political meetings to all careless leaders." In comments that were reported in local and international media, including the BBC, Mushosha said that the decision to ban political meetings followed "the enormous pressure that has been exerted on the President and his wife from the opposition parties." Following the uproar generated by the comments, Home Affairs Minister Ronnie Shikapwasha clarified that the GRZ had not instructed the police to refuse to grant permits for rallies. In the prepared statement quoted in front-page articles in both government controlled newspapers on December 16, Shikapwasha LUSAKA 00001694 002 OF 003 said that that the Public Order Act (POA) would continue to govern all public meetings and that the government would not issue instructions to go against the law. ¶8. (SBU) Comment: Even if it was made without the GRZ's endorsement, Musosha's statement reveals the ruling party's frustration with the opposition party Patriotic Front (PF) leader Michael Sata. The PF leader's steady stream of criticism of President Mwanawasa, his wife Maureen, and the MMD (and the GRZ's frequent and intemperate undiplomatic responses) has made him an unwelcome media fixture, at least from the government's perspective. End Comment. Charges Against Sata Dismissed -------------- ¶9. (U) On December 14, the Lusaka Magistrate's Court granted a defense motion to quash the indictment charging Patriotic Front leader Michael Sata with over-declaring his net worth and filing a false declaration of assets in connection with his presidential nomination. (Ref B) The government alleged that Sata falsely claimed 350 million Kwacha (USD 87,500) in assets resulting from a judgment in a defamation case he had brought against former Minister of Sport, Youth and Child Development George Chulumanda, although the judgment had been set aside on appeal. In quashing the indictment, the Magistrate's Court held that the Electoral Act requires that candidates swear to their citizenship and parentage but does not require the declaration of assets and liabilities to be made under oath. Although the false declaration of assets could be an offense under the penal code, the court ruled that because Sata was charged under the Electoral Act, the indictment was defective. The GRZ said that it would appeal the court's decision. EU Election Observers Report -------------- ¶10. (U) The recently released final report of the European Union Election Observation Mission to Zambia's September 28 tripartite elections concluded that the presidential, parliamentary and local government elections were "generally well-administered, largely peaceful and offered voters a wide range of candidates to choose from in a genuinely competitive process." (See Ref C for summary of EU interim report). In a briefing for donors, EU Chief Election Observer Annemie Neyts said that the 2006 elections were a "marked improvement" over the elections in 2001. She singled out the high voter turnout and the transparency of the Electoral Commission for Zambia (ECZ) as particularly bright spots. Neyts also said the voter education campaign conducted prior to the elections was "generally successful," although she noted that voter education efforts did not reach some of Zambia's more remote areas. (Ref A). The EU report is available on the internet at http://ec.europa.eu/comm/external_relations /human_rights/eu_election_ass_observ/zambia/i ndex.htm --Electoral Law Reform ¶11. (U) The EU report said that the Electoral Act of 2006, together with other legislation, provided an adequate framework for the conduct of democratic elections, but noted that the new law did not incorporate many key reforms recommended in the report of the Electoral Reform Technical Committee (ERTC) (Ref D). Of particular concern was the GRZ's failure to reform campaign financing rules. The report concluded that "together with the advantages of incumbency, the absence of regulations governing campaign finance resulted in an uneven playing field for contestants." ¶12. (U) To strengthen the electoral process, the EU observers recommended that Zambia undertake a number of steps, beginning with the reform of the electoral law and related legislation. To promote compliance and enhance enforcement, electoral laws should be simplified and consolidated into one statutory instrument. The report recommended that the government and other stakeholders should consider introducing a majority requirement for presidential elections when formulating the new electoral law and that the law should also provide for the establishment of a permanent independent election tribunal for the resolution of election disputes. ¶13. (SBU) Neyts emphasized the need to introduce legislation that would increase the independence of political parties. Legislation to limit campaign spending and regulate party financing would create a more level political playing field. The introduction of public funding for political parties would also advance this goal. She added that political parties also require internal reform, noting that a democracy is only as strong as its parties --Media Access and Coverage ¶14. (U) With respect to media access and coverage, the EU observers reported that freedom of expression and the right to publish were respected during the campaign period and that the media coverage of the elections was better than in the past. Although candidates LUSAKA 00001694 003 OF 003 gained access to the state-owned media as a result of a series of programs sponsored by the ECZ, the EU nevertheless concluded that "in both its television and radio services ZNBC (the national broadcaster) failed to provide balance between candidates in key areas such as news bulletins, and there was a strong bias in favor of the MMD." The report concluded the Independent Broadcast Authority (IBA) Act should be implemented as a step towards transforming ZNBC into an independent public broadcaster. --Problems with Vote Count and Results Management ¶15. (U) The EU report also noted problems that occurred with the counting, tabulation and reconciliation of votes, which undermined confidence in the results of the elections. The report attributed the problems, in part, to inadequate training for election officials, compounded by poorly designed and unnecessarily complicated return forms. In addition, the presiding officer handbook developed by the ECZ was incomplete and difficult to use, leaving many officials unable to find answers to procedural questions. ¶16. (U) Worse than the problems with the count were the complications with the tabulation and electronic transmission of results, which the report described as the "weakest step in the whole election process." Although the system for transmitting the results electronically was sound, the optical-marked recognition (OMR) forms were too difficult to use and minor input errors frequently caused the system to reject forms. In the end, the ECZ was forced to abandon the electronic system in favor of faxing or physically delivering results to Lusaka. --Report's Long-term Impact ¶17. (SBU) Beyond its observations and recommendations, the EU Observer Mission report is important because it provides a baseline against which to judge the success of preparations for future presidential and parliamentary elections. When compared to the EU Observer Mission report on Zambia's 2001 elections, which concluded that the "Electoral Commission of Zambia has failed to fulfill its mandate on behalf of the electors of Zambia," the 2006 report reveals substantial progress. The government clearly took the earlier report's criticism of the ECZ's performance seriously in preparing for the 2006 elections, appointing a strong and competent leader in Justice Irene Mambilima to lead the Commission. Donor representatives also referred to the report's recommendations in their consultations with the GRZ and the ECZ in the run-up to 2006 elections. The 2006 report could have a similar significant impact on 2011 election preparations. MARTINEZ