Identifier | Created | Classification | Origin |
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08PRETORIA740 | 2008-04-09 12:56:00 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Pretoria |
VZCZCXRO7485 PP RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN DE RUEHSA #0740 1001256 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 091256Z APR 08 FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4088 INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN PRIORITY 5493 RUEHDU/AMCONSUL DURBAN PRIORITY 9718 RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY |
C O N F I D E N T I A L PRETORIA 000740 |
1. (C) DFA's Great Lakes Special Envoy Ambassador Kingsley Mamabolo, who headed South Africa's SADC election observation team in Zimbabwe, expressed frustration to PolCouns and PolOff on 08 April about the current Zimbabwe crisis. He started the conversation with the admission that "it looks bad." Though everyone was "very tolerant" on election day, Mamabolo acknowledged he could see how both ZANU-PF and MDC supporters could have rigged results either before or after the actual election. Mamabolo believes there may be some truth in Mugabe's statements that his votes were undercounted by ZEC officials, since some could be among the many ZANU-PF members who are "jumping ship to the MDC." He also believes that there is some truth in MDC's accusations of ZANU-PF's role in ballot stuffing, placing deceased voters on rolls, and giving out plots of land so people could double-vote. In this sense, Mamabolo believes that the SADC criteria for election monitoring need to be revisited. "They are only interested in the process on the actual day," he said, implying that this was not the only important criterion. 2. (C) The SAG is pushing Mugabe for the results, according to Mamabolo, even though he himself believes Morgan Tsvangirai won the presidential vote. However, since neither SIPDIS side won a clear majority, he said the SAG was pushing for a transitional unity government without a run-off election, but that "they're not listening." (COMMENT: It was not clear to whom exactly Mamabolo was referring but PolOff was told on 08 April by numerous sources that both MDC and ZANU-PF are becoming less and less flexible (septel). END COMMENT) When asked whether Mugabe would be included in a unity government, he replied "that would be up to MDC and ZANU-PF to work out, but ideally no." However, he admitted that some ZANU-PF members are ready to join a MDC-ZANU-PF transitional government. When asked about South Africa's contingency planning in the event Mugabe declares victory, Mamabolo simply said "it's been very difficult for us." 3. (C) As an aside, Mamabolo complained about the inclusion of opposition parliamentarians in South Africa's elections monitoring team. He accused Democratic Alliance observers of "trying to score cheap political points," and noted that their individual public criticisms were not helpful to the election mission. He believes that all South African observers should have put aside personal political differences, worked as a collective, and obeyed the rule they had all agreed to and not spoken to the media. "I would have liked to have expelled them if there was more time," he said. He also said that he will advise the SAG against including parliamentarians in the next SADC observer mission. BOST |