MALAWI: OPPOSITION LEADER VOTE HIGHLIGHTS SPLIT IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LILONGWE 000626 SIPDIS LONDON FOR AF WATCHER PETER LORD E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2019 TAGS: PGOV KDEM MI SUBJECT: MALAWI: OPPOSITION LEADER VOTE HIGHLIGHTS SPLIT IN THE MCP REF: LILONGWE 526 LILONGWE 00000626 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: DCM Kevin Sullivan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: In an unorthodox move, Malawi's DPP dominated parliament amended its standing orders to allow the entire membership of the house, including both opposition and government members, to vote in the election of the leader of the opposition. This change set-up an election between MCP Chairman John Tembo and MCP party reformer Abele Kayembe. Kayembe, a relative newcomer to politics, won the election handily with support from the entire ruling party caucus. These events highlight the fissures that have developed in the MCP in the wake of their defeat in the May 2009 Presidential and Parliamentary elections. It was also an indication of the DPP's willingness to use its large majority to get what it wants -- in this case, ousting John Tembo from his prestigious perch. End summary. PARLIAMENT CHANGES RULES OF THE GAME -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On the second day of its second meeting of the 2009 session, Malawi's parliament took up a controversial motion to amend its standing orders that would allow the entire membership of the house, both opposition and government members, to vote in the election of the leader of the opposition. Previous standing orders provided for the leader of the largest opposition party in Parliament to assume the Leader of Opposition mantle automatically. The motion that prompted the change had originally been offered by MCP reformer MP Ishmael Chafukira in parliament's last meeting. The motion was understood by observers to be a political gambit designed to challenge MCP strongman (and losing presidential candidate) John Tembo. When Chafukira died suddenly in September (reftel) the future of the motion became uncertain, but was reported out favorably by parliament's Legal Affairs Committee November 17. The DPP-dominated full chamber voted immediately to adopt the change. TEMBO NOMINATED IN ABSENTIA -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Sensing that something was afoot, Tembo left the chamber soon after the vote on the order change. During his absence, a fellow MP nominated him for the leader position. The reform faction of the MCP, which has been agitating for change in the party's leadership since the MCP's drubbing in the May 2009 elections, put forward relative newcomer Abele Kayembe as their candidate. Kayembe was known as an original member of the MCP reform faction and had gained further notoriety when he was roughed-up by Tembo supporters at an MCP meeting held soon after the May elections. Kayembe, who reportedly was initially reticent about running for the position, was nominated along with UDF party member Alfred Mwechumu. TEMBO OUT...KAYEMBE IN...AND THE RIFT IS STARK -------------- - ¶4. (SBU) In the vote that followed, Kayembe received 117 votes to 23 votes for Mwechumu and 8 votes for Tembo. Upon the announcement of the results of the election by Speaker Henry Chimunthu Banda, several senior MCP MP's -- Tembo loyalists -- abandoned their seats to take up new ones with the independent MP's to signal their displeasure with the outcome. For his part, Kayembe attempted to extend an olive branch to Tembo's supporters saying, "...we are a generation of politicians who believe in forgiveness and reconciliation." When a new sitting plan for the chamber was published, the split in the party was clear: the Tembo faction, made up of 12 MCP MPs plus one independent, is now seated where independent MPs used to sit. Meanwhile, the Kayembe faction, composed of 14 MCP MPs, plus eight independents (total of 22) who will caucus with them, are seated where the MCP has sat for the last 15 years. COMMENT: DPP MANIPULATION SHORT-SIGHTED AND UNNECESSARY -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) Since their resounding defeat in Malawi's May 2009 elections, the humbled Malawi Congress Party (MCP) has been consumed with internal conflict. The future direction of the party, and who will lead it, are the issues in play. Tembo's loss of the position of Leader of the Opposition does not/not equate to automatic loss of the leadership of the MCP, but LILONGWE 00000626 002.2 OF 002 Kayembe's ascension to the post does position him for a possible run at the top spot in the MCP. New leadership at the DPP's main competitor could ultimately be a good thing for the MCP and for Malawi, but the manner in which he captured his position may come back to haunt him. ¶6. (C) Few will mourn the end of John Tembo's tenure as Leader of the Opposition. His obstructionism and pitched battles with the GOM over the last five years created legislative gridlock. From an institutional perspective, however, the DPP's blatant manipulation of standard Parliamentary practice is disturbing. With an overwhelming majority in Parliament, the ruling party was already in a position to control the legislative agenda and had no need to further weaken the opposition. The Nation, a prestigious daily newspaper, commented in an editorial that the DPP's decision to amend Parliament's standing orders in this area was both vindictive and short-sighted. BODDE