Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai was so convinced that his party would win the 2005 parliamentary elections that he told United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell that he would be holding a press conference on 1 April to claim a democratic mandate.
Tsvangirai wanted the United States to issue a strong statement to support him and Dell said he too was going to hold a press conference to back the MDC victory.
The MDC leader said if his party won the majority he had the right to form the next government and would call upon President Mugabe to recognise the MDC victory and to begin negotiations on transitional arrangements.
Tsvangirai said Mugabe would doubtless argue that he was elected through 2008 and he would rely on the 30 appointed seats to maintain ZANU-PF control of Parliament but the MDC would argue that the 30 appointed seats should be ignored.
When asked by Dell what the MDC would do in the event fraud prevented an MDC victory, Tsvangirai said he did not expect such a result and hoped to avoid any violence but that contingency plans were being made.
Dell was so impressed by Tsvangirai that he commented: “Win, lose, or draw, Tsvangirai has raised his stature within Zimbabwe and within the region over the past month as he has personally led a resurgent and better organised MDC to the cusp of a historic electoral outcome.
“More than ever, he appears to have what it takes to lead this country in a democratic direction. However, no one, least of all Tsvangirai, is under any illusions about the long, difficult road ahead.
“Robert Mugabe hasn’t survived as president of this country for twenty-five years without an abundance of nerve and guile. Regardless of the outcome of this election, our task remains to find ways to support Tsvangirai, the MDC, and other democrats in their crusade to free this country.”
Ed: The MDC not only lost the election but was worse off than it had been in 2000 shedding some 16 seats. Only two years later, the same Christopher Dell described Tsvangirai as “a brave, committed man and, by and large, a democrat” but “also a flawed figure, not readily open to advice, indecisive and with questionable judgment in selecting those around him”.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 05HARARE488, MDC HEAD PREDICTS VICTORY AND ASKS SUPPORT
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
311509Z Mar 05
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 000488
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR AF DAS WOODS; AF/S BRUCE NEULING
NSC PLS PASS TO SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE
DEPARTMENT PASS EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2015
SUBJECT: MDC HEAD PREDICTS VICTORY AND ASKS SUPPORT
Classified By: AMBASSADOR CHRISTOPHER W. DELL, REASON 1.4 b/d
——-
Summary
——-
¶1. (C) In a midnight meeting with the Ambassador on March 30,
MDC leader Morgan Tsvagirai predicted that his party would
win a majority of the contested seats in the next day,s
parliamentary elections. He said he would hold a press
conference on Friday afternoon, April 1, to claim a
democratic mandate and asked for a strong statement of
support from the United States. The Ambassador responded
that if the MDC won a clear majority of the contested seats,
we would support his claim to a democratic mandate. He added
that in our view, President Mugabe would have to be held
responsible for any post-election violence that resulted from
GOZ electoral fraud. End Summary.
—————-
MDC Will Win Big
—————-
¶2. (C) Tsvangirai said he had just returned from a final
campaign swing. He was tired but elated by the enthusiastic
crowds he and his party had drawn in the campaign,s final
weeks. The momentum was with his party and ZANU-PF knew it
and was gearing itself for defeat. ZANU-PF was saddled with
bad candidates and a bad campaign and their support was
noticeably flagging. Nathan Shamuyarira, Politburo member
and ZANU-PF Secretary for Information and Publicity had
publicly acknowledged that his party might win only 57 seats.
Tsvangirai said that result would already leave the MDC with
a majority of the contested seats, but he thought they could
do even better.
¶3. (C) Tsvangirai said that in that event he would claim a
democratic mandate. His party would have won a majority of
the contested seats and in any democratic country that should
give it the right to form the next government. He would hold
a press conference on Friday, probably around noon, when he
was fairly sure of the final tally, to call upon President
Mugabe to recognize the MDC victory and to begin negotiations
on transition arrangements.
¶4. (C) Tsvangirai said Mugabe would doubtless argue that he
was elected through 2008 and he would rely on the 30
appointed seats to maintain ZANU-PF control of Parliament.
Tsvangirai said MDC had no preconceived agenda for
SIPDIS
negotiations. However, it would not join a government of
national unity and would argue that 30 appointed seats should
be ignored. He acknowledged that a key moment could come
when the new Parliament was seated some two weeks after the
election. The Ambassador asked what role Tsvangirai foresaw
for South African President Mbkei, to which Tsvangirai
replied little or none given his open support for Mugabe and
ZANU-PF.
———————–
Appeals for U.S Support
———————–
¶5. (C) Tsvangirai asked that the U.S. come out strongly in
support of his claim of a democratic mandate. The Ambassador
responded that in the event the MDC won a clear majority of
the contested seats he could count on our support. The
Ambassador said he would also hold a press conference on
Friday, at 11:00. His purpose was to be among the first to
publicly comment on the election ) drawing on the Embassy,s
extensive observation efforts ) and thereby frame the
subsequent debate. He asked to speak with Tsvangirai in
advance to coordinate messages. He added that the U.S. would
likely issue an official statement at the noon State
Department press briefing in Washington that day. We hoped
at both his press conference and in the statement to say that
despite the obstacles the GOZ had placed in their way, the
Zimbabwean people had spoken and the voice had to be heard
and respected by the nation’s leaders.
¶6. (S) The Ambassador asked what the MDC would do in the
event fraud prevented an MDC victory. Tsvangirai said he did
not expect such a result and hoped to avoid any violence but
that contingency plans were being made. The Ambassador
stressed that the U.S. would not encourage a Ukraine-like
campaign of civil disobedience, but that if one gathered
momentum of its own accord we would look to Washington for
guidance on ways to be supportive. He added that in our
view, the responsibility lay with Mugabe to avoid violence by
ensuring that the will of the Zimbabwean people was
accurately reflected in the election,s results and that he
not destabilize the country by setting off a wave of angry
protests in response to election fraud.
——-
Comment
——-
¶7. (C) Win, lose, or draw, Tsvangirai has raised his stature
within Zimbabwe and within the region over the past month as
he has personally led a resurgent and better organized MDC to
the cusp of a historic electoral outcome. More than ever, he
appears to have what it takes to lead this country in a
democratic direction. However, no one, least of all
Tsvangirai, is under any illusions about the long, difficult
SIPDIS
road ahead. Robert Mugabe hasn,t survived as president of
this country for twenty-five years without an abundance of
nerve and guile. Regardless of the outcome of this election,
our task remains to find ways to support Tsvangirai, the MDC,
and other democrats in their crusade to free this country.
Dell
Dell
(16 VIEWS)
