President Robert Mugabe won the 2002 presidential elections with a 427 000 majority but his main rival Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change rejected the results as “the biggest fraud he has ever witnessed”.
Tsvangirai said the results did not reflect the will of the people and were illegitimate.
Though he did not say what the MDC was going to do about the results, one of his lieutenants Tendai Biti said the MDC was going to challenge the results in court.
He said the presidential election was just “Round 1” and the MDC would be there for “Round 6”.
Biti, however, said he had no expectation of success with any MDC legal action, but that it should be carried out in any case.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 02HARARE661, MUGABE DECLARED WINNER OF ZIMBABWE PRESIDENTIAL
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
131251Z Mar 02
CONFIDENTIAL PTQ9499
PAGE 01 HARARE 00661 01 OF 02 131301Z
ACTION AF-00
INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AID-00 AMAD-00 CIAE-00 INL-00 DODE-00
SRPP-00 DS-00 EB-00 EUR-00 VC-00 H-01 TEDE-00
INR-00 IO-00 LAB-01 L-00 VCE-00 AC-01 NSAE-00
OIC-02 OMB-01 OPIC-01 PA-00 PC-01 PM-00 PRS-00
ACE-00 P-00 SP-00 SSO-00 STR-00 TRSE-00 USIE-00
ECA-00 PMB-00 DSCC-00 PRM-00 DRL-02 G-00 NFAT-00
SAS-00 SWCI-00 /010W
——————73D0DF 131301Z /38
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1186
INFO NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
OAU COLLECTIVE
ALL EUROPEAN UNION POST COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000661
SIPDIS
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER
LONDON FOR CHARLES GURNEY
PARIS FOR CHARLES NEARY
NAIROBI FOR TERRY PFLAUMER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/12
SUBJECT: MUGABE DECLARED WINNER OF ZIMBABWE PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION; MDC LEAVES ITS OPTIONS OPEN
REF: HARARE 644
CLASSIFIED BY POLITICAL OFFICER TODD FAULK FOR REASONS:
1.5 (B) AND (D).
¶1. (C) SUMMARY: REGISTRAR-GENERAL TOBAIWA MUDEDE HAS
DECLARED PRESIDENT ROBERT MUGABE THE WINNER OF
ZIMBABWE’S MARCH 9-11 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. HE BEAT
HIS STRONGEST CHALLENGER IN 22 YEARS BY 427,000 VOTES,
OR 56 PERCENT TO 42 PERCENT. THE NATURE OF SOME OF THE
RESULTS, ESPECIALLY EXTRAORDINARILY HIGH FIGURES FOR
MUGABE IN MASHONALAND DISTRICTS, RAISE CONCERNS OF VOTE-
RIGGING AND FRAUD. INSUFFICIENT VOTER TURNOUT FOR AREAS
OF MDC STRENGTH WAS A KEY FACTOR. MDC PRESIDENT MORGAN
TSVANGIRAI REJECTED THE RESULTS AND CALLED THE ELECTION
SIPDIS
“ILLEGITIMATE.” HARARE AND OTHER MAJOR URBAN AREAS
REMAIN CALM, BUT THE ARMY AND POLICE PRESENCE HAS
INCREASED. END SUMMARY.
——————
THE RESULTS ARE IN
——————
¶2. (U) SHORTLY AFTER NOON LOCAL TIME ON MARCH 13,
REGISTRAR-GENERAL TOBAIWA MUDEDE DECLARED ON STATE
TELEVISION AND RADIO THAT PRESIDENT ROBERT MUGABE HAD
BEEN DULY ELECTED TO ANOTHER SIX-YEAR TERM. THE
DECLARATION FOLLOWED THE CONSTITUENCY-BY-CONSTITUENCY
ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS THAT BEGAN IN THE EVENING OF
MARCH 12 AND CONTINUED THROUGH THE NIGHT AND MORNING OF
MARCH 13. THE NATIONWIDE FINAL RESULTS ARE BELOW
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 03 HARARE 00661 01 OF 02 131301Z
(PERCENTAGE FIGURES BASED ON TOTAL VOTES LESS SPOILED
BALLOTS):
ROBERT MUGABE (ZANU-PF) 1,685,212 (56.20%)
MORGAN TSVANGIRAI (MDC) 1,258,401 (41.95%)
WILSON KUMBULA (ZANU) 31,358 ( 1.05%)
SHAKESPEARE MAYA (NAGG) 11,906 ( 0.40%)
PAUL SIWELA (INDEPENDENT) 11,871 ( 0.40%)
¶3. (C) MUGABE’S EASY SURPASSING OF THE 50 PERCENT MARK
MEANS THERE WILL BE NO RUNOFF ELECTION. THE MARGIN OF
VICTORY OF NEARLY 427,000 VOTES WAS WIDER THAN EXPECTED.
THE THREE OTHER CANDIDATES WERE EVEN LESS OF A FACTOR
THAN ANTICIPATED, GARNERING LESS THAN 2 PERCENT OF THE
VOTE BETWEEN THEM. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF SPOILED BALLOTS,
132,000, OR 4.2 PERCENT OF TOTAL VOTES CAST WAS SOMEWHAT
HIGHER THAN IN THE 2000 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION. THE
REGISTRAR-GENERAL DID NOT ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS OF THE
HARARE AND CHITUNGWIZA MAYORAL AND COUNCIL ELECTIONS,
NOR DID HE SAY WHEN HE WOULD. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT
NO INDEPENDENT CONFIRMATION OF THE RESULTS IS YET
AVAILABLE. RINDAI CHIPFUNDE OF THE ZIMBABWE ELECTION
SUPPORT NETWORK (ZESN), AN UMBRELLA ORGANIZATION
COMPRISING LOCAL NGOS, TOLD US THAT ZESN WAS STILL
COMPILING REPORTS FROM ITS OBSERVERS AT COUNTING
CENTERS. DAVID COLTART, AN MDC MP AND THE PARTY’S
ELECTION AGENT FOR BULAWAYO SOUTH, HOWEVER, DID CONFIRM
THAT THE NUMBERS ANNOUNCED FOR THAT CONSTITUENCY ARE
CORRECT.
—————–
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 04 HARARE 00661 01 OF 02 131301Z
CONCERNS OF FRAUD
—————–
¶4. (C) A SCAN OF THE RESULTS BY CONSTITUENCY AND A
VARIETY OF REPORTS RAISE SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT THE
CONDUCT OF THE POLL AND THE LEVEL OF INTIMIDATION IN THE
PRE-ELECTION PERIOD. NEARLY ALL CONSTITUENCIES SHOW
INCREASES IN THE NUMBER OF VOTES FOR MUGABE OVER THE
2000 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION FIGURES, EVEN IN URBAN
AREAS. IN ZANU-PF’S MASHONALAND STRONGHOLD, THE NUMBER
OF VOTES FOR MUGABE INCREASED 20 TO 30 PERCENT OVER
2000, WHILE VOTES FOR TSVANGIRAI CHANGED ONLY
MARGINALLY. PART OF THE INCREASE FOR MUGABE CAN BE
ATTRIBUTED TO HIS NATIONWIDE NAME RECOGNITION VERSUS THE
LACK OF NAME RECOGNITION FOR SOME OF ZANU-PF’S
PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATES IN 2000. HOWEVER, THE HUGE
INCREASE IN MASHONALAND NUMBERS (THE MARGIN WAS 15 TO 1
IN SOME DISTRICTS) GIVE RISE TO SUSPICIONS OF VOTE
TAMPERING AND BALLOT BOX STUFFING IN THAT PROVINCE:
— IN A PRESS BRIEFING MARCH 12, THE MDC STATED THAT AT
34 POLLING STATIONS IN MASHONALAND, ITS POLLING AGENTS
WERE CHASED AWAY, ABDUCTED OR ARRESTED, SEALS ON BALLOT
BOXES WERE BROKEN, OR THE MDC WAS NOT ALLOWED TO AFFIX
ITS SEALS TO THE BALLOT BOXES. FOUR OF ITS POLLING
CONFIDENTIAL
CONFIDENTIAL PTQ9500
PAGE 01 HARARE 00661 02 OF 02 131301Z
ACTION AF-00
INFO LOG-00 NP-00 AID-00 AMAD-00 CIAE-00 INL-00 DODE-00
SRPP-00 DS-00 EB-00 EUR-00 VC-00 H-01 TEDE-00
INR-00 IO-00 LAB-01 L-00 VCE-00 AC-01 NSAE-00
OIC-02 OMB-01 OPIC-01 PA-00 PC-01 PM-00 PRS-00
ACE-00 P-00 SP-00 SSO-00 STR-00 TRSE-00 USIE-00
ECA-00 PMB-00 DSCC-00 PRM-00 DRL-02 G-00 NFAT-00
SAS-00 SWCI-00 /010W
——————73D0F3 131301Z /38
O 131251Z MAR 02
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1187
INFO NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
OAU COLLECTIVE
ALL EUROPEAN UNION POST COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 02 HARARE 000661
SIPDIS
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR JENDAYI FRAZER
LONDON FOR CHARLES GURNEY
PARIS FOR CHARLES NEARY
NAIROBI FOR TERRY PFLAUMER
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/13/12
SUBJECT: MUGABE DECLARED WINNER OF ZIMBABWE PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION; MDC LEAVES ITS OPTIONS OPEN
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 02 HARARE 00661 02 OF 02 131301Z
AGENTS WERE ARRESTED BEFORE THE COUNTING PROCESS BEGAN.
MOST OF THE INCIDENTS OCCURRED IN MASHONALAND CENTRAL.
AT ITS PRESS CONFERENCE MARCH 13, THE MDC ASSERTED THAT
ZANU-PF MILITIA PREVENTED ITS POLLING AGENTS FROM
DEPLOYING TO 52 PERCENT OF RURAL POLLING STATIONS.
–RESULTS FROM 6 OF THE 10 MASHONALAND CENTRAL
CONSTITUENCIES WERE NOT ANNOUNCED UNTIL AFTER 107 OTHER
CONSTITUENCIES, INCLUDING MANY FROM HARARE. TRANSPORT
DIFFICULTIES CANNOT ACCOUNT FOR THIS. MASHONALAND
CENTRAL WOULD HAVE HAD MORE TIME THAN ANY OTHER
PROVINCE, OTHER THAN HARARE, TO CARRY OUT FRAUD.
¶5. (C) FOR TSVANGIRAI, THE NUMBER OF VOTES INCREASED
ONLY MARGINALLY, EVEN IN THE MDC’S URBAN STRONGHOLDS.
IN BULAWAYO AND SOME AREAS OF MATABELELAND, THE NUMBER
OF VOTES ACTUALLY DECREASED. VOTER TURNOUTS OF LESS
THAN 50 PERCENT IN BULAWAYO AND MATABELELAND SOUTH COULD
BE AN INDICATION OF VOTER APATHY, BUT THE WIDESCALE
INTIMIDATION OF VOTERS IN THOSE TWO AREAS JUST WEEKS
BEFORE THE ELECTION IS ALSO A LIKELY FACTOR. ZANU-PF
MILITIA AND WAR VETERANS HAVE TARGETED MANY OTHER AREAS
OF THE COUNTRY FOR INTIMIDATION AND VIOLENT ATTACKS IN
THE LAST YEAR. THE AMANI TRUST, A WIDELY RESPECTED
HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION, IS COMPILING AN ANALYSIS OF
THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RESULTS WITH REPORTED
INCIDENTS OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE. OTHER FACTORS
CONTRIBUTING TO TSVANGIRAI’S DEFEAT:
— A LOW NATIONAL TURNOUT RATE OF 55.8 PERCENT DOOMED
TSVANGIRAI’S CHANCES OF OVERCOMING MUGABE’S CONSIDERABLE
SIPDIS
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 03 HARARE 00661 02 OF 02 131301Z
ARRAY OF ELECTORAL MANIPULATION TOOLS AND STATE
RESOURCES. MUGABE’S COUP DE GRACE WAS CUTTING THE
NUMBER OF URBAN POLLING STATIONS IN HALF, WHICH LED TO
MASSIVE VOTER QUEUES AND ONLY A 50 PERCENT VOTER TURNOUT
IN HARARE, TSVANGIRAI’S STRONGEST BASE OF SUPPORT
(REFTEL). ALTHOUGH PROBABLY NO MORE THAN TEN THOUSAND
OR SO WISHING TO VOTE WERE UNABLE TO DO SO AT THE END OF
THE THIRD DAY OF POLLING, MANY TENS OF THOUSANDS WERE
LIKELY TOO DISCOURAGED BY THE KILOMETER-LONG LINES AND
WAITS OF UP TO 30 HOURS IN DAYS ONE AND TWO.
——————
THE MDC’S REACTION
——————
¶6. (C) AT A PACKED NOON PRESS CONFERENCE IN HARARE ON
MARCH 13, MDC PRESIDENT MORGAN TSVANGIRAI REJECTED THE
ELECTION RESULTS AND DESCRIBED THE POLLING AS “THE
BIGGEST FRAUD HE HAS EVER WITNESSED.” HE STATED THAT
“THE RESULTS DO NOT REFLECT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE AND
ARE ILLEGITIMATE.” HE CONCLUDED BY SAYING THE MDC
REMAINS COMMITTED TO PEACEFUL CHANGE. IN RESPONSE TO
REPORTERS’ QUESTIONS, TSVANGIRAI SAID HE HAS NO
INTENTION OF LEAVING THE COUNTRY OR ABANDONING HIS
PEOPLE. HE DEMURRED ON WHAT THE MDC WOULD DO NO NEXT,
BUT INDICATED THAT COURT ACTION WAS ONE OF ITS OPTIONS.
HE REITERATED THAT HE BELIEVED THE ELECTION HAD BEEN
“MASSIVELY RIGGED.” IN AN ASIDE WITH POLOFF, MDC MP
TENDAI BITI SAID THAT THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WAS JUST
“ROUND 1” AND THE MDC WOULD BE THERE FOR “ROUND 6.” HE
CONTINUED THAT HE HAD NO EXPECTATION OF SUCCESS WITH ANY
CONFIDENTIAL
PAGE 04 HARARE 00661 02 OF 02 131301Z
MDC LEGAL ACTION, BUT THAT IT SHOULD BE CARRIED OUT IN
ANY CASE. COURT ACTION IS JUST ONE OF THE OPTIONS THE
MDC HAS AT ITS DISPOSAL, BITI CONCLUDED.
———————–
ALL IS QUIET … SO FAR
———————–
¶7. (C) SO FAR, THE REACTION ON THE GROUND IN HARARE IS A
PEACEFUL ONE. POST HAD HEARD A REPORT OF A SCUFFLE IN
THE HIGH-DENSITY SUBURB OF MBARE, TO WHICH POLICE
RESPONDED. EMBASSY OFFICERS TOURING THE AREA AND OTHER
SUBURBS SAW NO SIGNS OF DISTURBANCES. POLICE ROADBLOCKS
HAVE BEEN ERECTED ALL OVER THE CITY, BUT FOR THE MOST
PART, THEY ARE ONLY SLOWING AND NOT STOPPING MOTORISTS.
WE HAVE RECEIVED OTHER REPORTS OF ARMY DEPLOYMENTS TO
BULAWAYO AND GWERU IN THE LAST 24 HOURS. ANOTHER REPORT
STATED THAT ARMY UNITS HAD SURROUNDED MDC HEADQUARTERS
IN BULAWAYO AND WERE DEPLOYED TO THE BULAWAYO AIRPORT,
POSSIBLY TO PREVENT MDC LEADERS FROM LEAVING THE
COUNTRY. WE WILL REPORT ON NEW DEVELOPMENTS AS THEY
OCCUR.
SULLIVAN
CONFIDENTIAL
>
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