Idasa analyst Sydney Masamvu had a copy of the 10-page document on the concerns of the two Movement for Democratic Change formations sent to South African President Thabo Mbeki and handed it over to United States embassy officials in Pretoria who in turn emailed it to their embassy in Harare.
According to a cable just released by Wikileaks, Masamvu had obtained the document from sources in the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty democracy.
The IMD supported the Cape Town-based Zimbabwe Institute, which Masamvu believed helped draft the Document, entitled: MDC Submission to the South African President Thabo Mbeki: SADC appointed Mediator on Zimbabwe. Conditions for free and fair elections in Zimbabwe. A pre-dialogue statement”
Full cable:
Viewing cable 07PRETORIA1554, MDC WRITTEN SUBMISSION TO MBEKI DETAILS OBSTACLES
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|
Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO4599
RR RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSA #1554/01 1231429
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 031429Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY PRETORIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9535
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 0982
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 2069
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 1089
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0515
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1184
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA 0465
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1072
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0074
RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 4268
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 001554
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR P, AF, IO, DRL, AF/S
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/01/2017
SUBJECT: MDC WRITTEN SUBMISSION TO MBEKI DETAILS OBSTACLES
TO FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS
REF: A. PRETORIA 1447
¶B. PRETORIA 1054
¶C. HARARE 344
Classified By: Charge d’Affaires Donald Teitelbaum. Reasons 1.4(b) and
(d).
¶1. (C) The Zimbabwe opposition party Movement for Democratic
Change (MDC) presented its concerns about upcoming elections
in a formal, 10-page written submission to South African
President Mbeki, dated 11 April 2007. Mbeki is serving as
the “facilitator” in Zimbabwe on behalf of the Southern
African Development Community (ref A), and has said that he
seeks to encourage dialogue between the MDC and ruling
ZANU-PF on the conditions for holding “free and fair”
elections in 2008. The SAG requested the MDC document during
two late March/early April meetings with MDC Secretaries
General Tendai Biti and Welshman Ncube (ref B).
¶2. (C) Post obtained a copy of the MDC written submission,
presented jointly by both MDC “formations,” from IDASA
analyst Sydney Masamvu (protect), who received it from
unnamed sources in the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty
Democracy (IMD). IMD has supported the Cape Town-based
Zimbabwe Institute, which Masamvu believes helped draft the
document. The document is entitled “MDC Submission to the
South African President Thabo Mbeki: SADC appointed Mediator
on Zimbabwe. Conditions for free and fair elections in
Zimbabwe. A pre-dialogue statement” (full document emailed
to Embassy Harare and AF/S).
——————————————
Urges End to Violence and New Constitution
——————————————
¶3. (C) The MDC submission begins with an introduction and
general observation that “proper negotiations” cannot take
place in the midst of the GOZ’s current “campaign of violent
repression.” However, the document makes clear that ending
the violence is not a “precondition” to talks.
¶4. (C) The document briefly reiterates the MDC view that the
“present Constitution is the root cause of many of the
problems” in Zimbabwe, and says that “elections should only
take place after a new democratic national Constitution comes
into operation in Zimbabwe.” During upcoming negotiations,
the MDC promises to “table its proposals” on the process for
creating a “new democratic constitutional order in Zimbabwe”
and the “principles upon which the new Constitution should be
based.”
——————————————— ——-
MDC Describes “Obstacles” to Free and Fair Elections
——————————————— ——-
¶5. (C) The remainder of the submission, entitled “Creating
conditions for free and fair elections,” describes in varying
degrees of detail 17 “obstacles” to the holding of free and
fair elections in Zimbabwe. The presentation draws heavily
on the SADC Electoral Principles. The obstacles are
summarized below using the same heading titles as the MDC
submission:
¶1. “Eligibility to vote” (must allow Zimbabwean diaspora to
vote);
¶2. “Deficiencies in the voters’ rolls and voter registration”
(need an updated and accessible voters’ roll);
¶3. “Ensuring impartial management of elections” (must put in
place a “genuinely independent and impartial electoral
commission”);
¶4. “Resolution of electoral disputes and complaints” (system
must address disputes, compared to past experience when
courts have “delayed inordinately the resolution of electoral
disputes”);
PRETORIA 00001554 002 OF 003
¶5. “Delimitation commission” (need neutral commission that
does not gerrymander);
¶6. “Auditing the electoral process” (need independent audit,
especially of ballot papers);
¶7. “Voter education” (must allow civic organizations to
provide voter education);
¶8. “Ensuring impartial policing of election” (need
“professional and politically impartial policing of the
election”);
¶9. “Ensuring freedom of peaceful assembly and association”
(must “revise” Public Order and Security Act (POSA) to
“ensure that all political parties and voters are able to
enjoy to the full their constitutional rights of freedom of
expression and assembly, while ensuring that public order is
preserved”);
¶10. “Preventing political misuse of military forces” (must
ensure the military are “not politically misused” and are
“kept out of the management of elections”);
¶11. “Preventing political misuse of youth militia and war
veterans” (must be “prevented from engaging in activities
that will prevent the holding of free elections”);
¶12. “Preventing political misuse of powers of traditional
leaders” (must ensure chiefs are neutral; many abused
position in past elections by threatening villagers with
expulsion or withholding food);
¶13. “Preventing abuse of food aid” (must not use food as
“political weapon” during elections);
¶14. “Media access, media coverage of elections and freedom of
expression (must ensure that media coverage of campaign is
“fair” and that all parties have “equitable access to public
media;” state media is “propaganda tool” of ZANU-PF; the
Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA)
is used by the state to stifle independent media);
¶15. “Ensuring full observation of election” (all regional,
international and local observers “wishing to observe during
the situation should able (sic) to do so freely before,
during and after the election”);
¶16. “Election agents and monitors” (must allow opposition
party agents and monitors to “carry out their duties,”
including the opening and sealing of ballot boxes and the
counting of votes; and
¶17. “Stopping the use of state resources for political
campaigns.”
The submission concludes by reemphasizing that the SADC
Electoral Principles require “members states to foster an
atmosphere of political tolerance for the proper holding of
elections,” and thus “appropriate measures must be taken
immediately if the elections to be held in 2008 are to
conform with the SADC Principles.”
¶6. (C) COMMENT: As reported in Ref A, South African
President Mbeki is treating the Zimbabwe mediation as a
negotiation between the MDC and ZANU-PF. He likely views
this written submission as the MDC’s initial negotiating
position and will now attempt to find “common ground” with
ZANU-PF on the 17 electoral issues. That said, if the SAG
truly wants free and fair elections (and we have our
suspicions they may not, as described in Ref A), we believe
there is little to negotiate since the suggested reforms —
at least the overwhelming majority of them — strike us as
the basic conditions for holding credible elections in
Zimbabwe.
PRETORIA 00001554 003 OF 003
¶7. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED: We found the MDC submission
generally well-written and well-argued. Referring to the
SADC Electoral Guidelines will play well with the SAG. We
were surprised, however, that the MDC downplayed the role of
the international community in supervising the elections,
considering the past experience with GOZ fraud. It also
would have been helpful if the party had provided some sense
of prioritization or categorization, instead of merely
supplying a long laundry list of issues. END COMMENT.
¶8. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Harare.
TEITELBAUM
(17 VIEWS)
