MALAWI ELECTIONS: MUTHARIKA DECLARED WINNER AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LILONGWE 000277 SENSITIVE SIPDIS LONDON FOR AF WATCHER PETER LORD ADDIS ABABA FOR AU E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM MI SUBJECT: MALAWI ELECTIONS: MUTHARIKA DECLARED WINNER AND INAUGURATED PRESIDENT REF: A. LILONGWE 266 ¶B. LILONGWE 273 ¶C. LILONGWE 274 LILONGWE 00000277 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) formally declared President Bingu wa Mutharika the victor in the country's presidential election in the early morning of May 22. Mutharika was inaugurated for a second term later the same day in the presence of regional dignitaries including Zambian president Rupia Banda and Zimbabwean president Mugabe. Malawian media and civil society organizations recognized Mutharika's clear victory, as did former president Muluzi. MCP candidate John Tembo refused to concede defeat and did not attend the inauguration. At his swearing-in, President Mutharika promised not to seek retribution against his opponents and pledged continued progress on his development agenda. END SUMMARY MEC, MESN AND MEDIA DECLARE BINGU WIN -------------- ¶2. (U) In the early hours of May 22, the MEC formally declared Bingu wa Mutharika the winner of the 19 May presidential election. MEC Chair Anastasia Msosa announced that results from 93 percent of polling stations had been tabulated, giving Mutharika over 2.7 million votes to John Tembo's 1.3 million. MEC representatives told US officials that the remaining seven percent represented around 600,000 votes -- not nearly enough for Tembo to overcome Mutharika's large lead. MEC went ahead with their declaration of a winner to facilitate the planned inauguration of President Mutharika on May 22. Major independent media outlets had reported returns directly from polling stations on May 21 and had already congratulated the President on his re-election. Most Malawians appeared satisfied both that the election had been conducted properly, and that Mutharika had won handily. ¶3. (SBU) As hoped, MEC's numbers tracked very closely with the statistical sampling conducted by the Malawi Electoral Support Network (MESN) with the support of the National Democratic Institute. President Mutharika took approximately 66 percent of the vote to Tembo's 30 percent, with minor candidates making up the difference. (MESN released its findings to the public early May 22.) Independent candidate James Nyondo, the subject of much controversy in the final month of the election, received less than 1 percent of the vote. The MEC hopes to finalize presidential results sometime next week. Figures so far suggest a turnout of about 68 percent, higher than in Malawi's last national election in 2004. DPP WINS STRONG MAJORITY IN PARLIAMENT -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The MEC expects to finalize parliamentary election results late May 22. Early results show that Mutharika's party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP),is likely to attain a two-thirds majority. Both the MCP and UDF suffered considerable parliamentary losses and will no longer be able to block legislation, even acting as a bloc. "Independents" appear to have won nearly 30 of Parliament's 193 seats, but many of these legislators are DPP members who rejected the results of suspect primary elections and ran in the general election. They will further augment the ruling party's caucus, if Mutharika allows them to return to the fold. MULUZI MAKES PEACE AT INAUGURATION -------------- ¶5. (SBU) President Mutharika was inaugurated for a second term at 11 am May 22 at Kamuzu Stadium in Blantyre. Tens of thousands of supporters attended, along with former president Bakili Muluzi and representatives of Malawi's major institutions. Muluzi greeted and embraced Mutharika on national television in an important gesture of reconciliation and was accorded the rightful place of a former president at the ceremony. MCP candidate John Tembo, for his part, had not yet conceded defeat and did not attend the inauguration. Media editorials castigated Tembo for refusing to admit defeat and move forward. Visiting dignitaries included Zimbabwean President Mugabe and Zambian President Rupia LILONGWE 00000277 002.2 OF 002 Banda, as well as other vice-presidents or foreign ministers from Rwanda, Swaziland, Namibia, Tanzania, Mauritius, and Mozambique. Amb. Bodde and other heads of diplomatic missions were also present. ¶6. (U) After taking the oath of office, Mutharika expressed his commitment to national unity and his desire for an end to the contentious politics of recent years. He acknowledged Muluzi's presence and promised no retribution against those who had not supported him. The president also pledged to continue the development agenda he began in his first term, giving special mention to rural electrification and other improvements in infrastructure. Mutharika reiterated his commitment to the fertilizer subsidy program, and to developing a "green belt" of irrigation along Malawi's major waterways. He also took time to thank donors individually for their support of Malawi's 2009 electoral process. BODDE