Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08LILONGWE701
2008-12-09 10:20:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Lilongwe
Cable title:  

MALAWI: ELECTION PREPARATION UPDATE

Tags:  PGOV KDEM MI 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO1776
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLG #0701/01 3441020
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 091020Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY LILONGWE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0177
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0287
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LILONGWE 000701 

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM MI
SUBJECT: MALAWI: ELECTION PREPARATION UPDATE

REF: LILONGWE 667 AND PREVIOUS

LILONGWE 00000701 001.2 OF 002


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LILONGWE 000701

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM MI
SUBJECT: MALAWI: ELECTION PREPARATION UPDATE

REF: LILONGWE 667 AND PREVIOUS

LILONGWE 00000701 001.2 OF 002



1. (SBU) Summary: With just over five months until Malawi's
May elections, the registration period is limping toward the
finish line with delays, material shortages and poor
expenditure tracking, but with what appears to be a
high-quality voter roll. Voter registration will now likely
conclude in late December or early January, with the initial
voters roll ready for inspection in February and final roll
printed by the end of March. The MEC has announced a robust
results management system plan, including a national tally
center open to the media that will release local results as
they come in. MEC Chairperson Justice Anastasia Msosa has
also expressed support for a civil society-led parallel vote
tally to help ensure confidence in the MEC's process. USG
funding for NDI's support to local observers and a parallel
vote tally would be a modest ($500,000) but high-yield
investment. While the MEC has extended invitations to
international observers, none have yet confirmed their
participation. MEC's delayed financial system installation
has limited activity-level expenditure tracking, leading to
concerns that there may be overspending on early activities
that will create a funding shortfall as the polling date
approaches. End Summary.

Materials and Equipment Problems
--------------


2. (SBU) The Malawi Electoral Commission continues to make
progress towards May 19 general elections. Registration of
voters has continued past the original November 30 completion
date. The MEC confirmed it will need a seventh, two-week
phase to register the final five districts. Voter
registration will now likely conclude in late December or
early January. However, the MEC continues to maintain it
will have the initial voters roll ready for inspection in
February and will print the final voters roll by the end of
March.


3. (SBU) While resolved in the field, equipment issues remain
a problem at the MEC headquarters. The breakdown of two
document scanners delayed the start of registration form
scanning. The MEC has compensate by going to 7x24 operations
in its information technology department. The long hours and
high stress have caused morale problems that could lead to
staff attrition during this high workload timeframe. The
high-tech system has yielded results, however, catching 35

duplicate registrants out of the 1.4 million registrants that
have been processed. Many believe the fingerprint-matching
technology will lead to the best voters roll in Malawi's
electoral history.

Results Management Plan
--------------


4. (SBU) The MEC recently announced an ambitious plan to
manage release of the results of the polls. Polling stations
will have one presiding officer responsible for the entire
station's results tabulation. Ballots will be counted in
front of monitors, tally sheets signed, and a copy posted
outside the polling station. The original result sheet will
be transported by vehicle to one of 29 district seats where
constituency return officers will enter the details in a
computer. The officers will also scan the original signed
results sheet. Both will be electronically transmitted to a
national tally center in Blantyre. Monitors and MEC
information technology staff will observe this data entry and
transmission step. By placing the 193 constituency officers
at just 29 district seats, the MEC hopes to avoid
communication outages and be able to respond more quickly to
technical problems.


5. (SBU) At the national tally center, the MEC plans to
display voting results as they come in on a big screen
monitor with live updates. Media, political parties, and
other observers will be allowed to watch each polling
center's results as the MEC certifies them as official. The
MEC said they expect all results to be officially announced
within 24 hours after the polls close. The MEC also said
they will attempt to post real-time results online.


6. (SBU) At a presentation by the U.S.-based National
Democratic Institute (NDI) hosted by the DCM recently on the
fringes of an Electoral Institute of Southern Africa
conference, MEC Chairperson Justice Anastasia Msosa also
expressed support for a civil-society-led parallel vote tally
(PVT) to help ensure confidence in the MEC's results
management process. Major donors including the UK and Canada
are currently considering whether to fund a PVT as well as

LILONGWE 00000701 002.2 OF 002


longer-term election observation by a local civil society
umbrella group. (COMMENT: The USG still has provided NO
FUNDING to this critical effort. END COMMENT) The MEC has
also invited international observers, but no group has yet
come forward.

Working with Media and Civil Society
--------------


7. (SBU) To combat the perceived bias of broadcasters, the
MEC opened its media monitoring unit (MMU) in early December.
The MMU will monitor both print and broadcast media and
report on the accuracy and fairness of election coverage
leading up to the polls. The MEC will also use the MMU to
engage journalists on professional methods for covering
elections. Grants to civil society organizations to perform
civic and voter education, to which USAID has contributed a
total of $802,000, will also be disbursed in mid-December.
Delays in disbursement will force most organizations to
modify their education proposals for the campaign period
only, since voter registration is almost over.

Budget Shortfalls a Concern
--------------


8. (SBU) The MEC's spending is a concern to international
donors who are contributing 44% of the election's budget.
Neither expenditures on additional registration equipment and
supplies, nor the costs of the repeated registration
extensions, were in the original budget. Additionally, the
MEC's financial system installation has been delayed, leading
to the use of simple spreadsheets to track expenditures.
Donors remain concerned that overspending on early election
activities will create funding shortfalls closer to the
polling date.


9. (SBU) Comment: The MEC continues to do its best to keep
the electoral process transparent and fair. Most of the
current problems stem from human resource and capacity issues
brought about by neglect in the period between 2004 and 2008.
The MEC remains heavily dependent on expensive international
consultants in many key areas and will likely have to extend
the contracts of some due to the prolonged registration
period. Moreover, the inability to accurately track
activity-level spending has made it difficult to project what
additional resources the MEC will need. While donors will
press the MEC to turn to the GOM for budget overruns, some
may find it difficult to refuse additional funding requests
to safeguard their already large investments. Some donors
would like to devote any additional funds to non-government
election support projects such as the civil-society parallel
vote tally, but without assurances that the GOM will step up
to fund MEC's unidentified budget gaps, funding may come too
late to implement these efforts. USG funding for NDI's
support to local observers and a parallel vote tally would be
a modest ($500,000) but high-yield investment. End Comment.
SULLIVAN