The United States through its Agency for International Development funded the parallel vote counting by the Zimbabwe Election Supervisory Network in the 2008 elections, according to a cable released by Wikileaks.
The Morgan Tsvangirai faction of the Movement for Democratic Change was carrying its own vote count.
The money for the ZESN Parallel Vote Tabulation, or PVT, as it was called, was channelled through the National Democratic Institute, an organisation that was founded by the United States government.
According to the cable ZESN was hesitant to undertake the PVT because it was concerned that the release of the MDC’s partisan results would undermine confidence and the integrity of its own count.
The NDI was working with the ZESN on how best to use the count “as a tool to encourage the Zimbabwe Election Commission to announce honest results rather than manufacturing a Mugabe victory”.
Full cable:
Viewing cable 08HARARE245, ZIMBABWE ELECTIONS: ELECTION DAY
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Reference ID |
Created |
Released |
Classification |
Origin |
VZCZCXRO8239
OO RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHSB #0245/01 0892236
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 292236Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY HARARE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2645
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 1850
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1974
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0547
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 1251
RUEHDK/AMEMBASSY DAKAR 1608
RUEHKM/AMEMBASSY KAMPALA 2030
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 4461
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1101
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HARARE 000245
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
SES-O
AF/S FOR S. HILL,
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR E. LOKEN AND L. DOBBINS
STATE PASS TO NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR B. PITTMAN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/29/2018
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE ELECTIONS: ELECTION DAY
REF: HARARE 244 AND PREV.
Classified By: Ambassador James D. McGee for reason 1.4 (d)
¶1. (U) Summary: Voting day in Zimbabwe was largely calm and
peaceful. Eleven embassy observers who were spread out
throughout the country were permitted to observe the vote and
remain at polling stations for vote counts. In defiance of
the government, the MDC told the press it would announce
results based on figures posted at polling places at 1 pm on
March 30. End summary.
VOTING DAY QUIET
—————-
¶2. (U) Reports from Embassy and other observers around
Zimbabwe indicate that voting was generally calm and
peaceful. Long lines at some polling places in the early
morning generally disappeared in late morning, and there were
no reports of long lines of voters at the designated poll
closing time of 7 pm. There were numerous individual reports
of apparent efforts at intimidation, such as ZANU partisans
making lists of voters names, but there was no apparent
systematic pattern of abuse. Following last week’s
presidential proclamation, which overturned a legal bar on
police presence in polling places, police were present at all
sites visited by Embassy observers. There were only a few
instances in which they were reported to attempt voter
intimidation. Embassy observers reported that MDC party
agents and independent observers from the Zimbabwe Electoral
Support Network (ZESN) were present at 80-90 percent of
polling places.
¶3. (U) There were many voters turned away because their names
were not on the lists in the wards where they thought they
were registered. Reports received by the Embassy suggest
about 10 percent of voters experienced this frustration; the
number was as high as 50 percent in some locations. This was
due at least in part to a change in the voting system: in the
past, voters could vote anywhere in a constituency, but
regulatory changes now limit them to a specific ward.
¶4. (U) The absence of long lines suggests that turnout may
not have been as high as the MDC had hoped and as many had
expected, given the recent surge in enthusiasm about the
opposition. Experienced observers reported that lines were
shorter than in 2002 and 2005, but also note that the number
of polling places was greater (9400 this year vs. just 5000
in 2002) while Zimbabwe’s population has declined as economic
migrants fled. In Harare and other urban areas the streets
were quiet, with very little traffic.
¶5. (U) The MDC held press conferences at noon and 4 pm. The
MDC presented a list of complaints, including:
–Exclusion of party polling agents from some polling
stations;
–High rates of voter rejection, particularly for voters with
Anglo-Saxon names;
–Intimidation associated with the deployment of security
forces;
–Questions about the indelibility of ink applied to voters
fingers to prevent multiple voting;
–An excessive number of ballot papers printed: 9 million
ballots for 5.9 million voters on the rolls (some believe the
actual voting population is likely more like 3.5 million,
given emigration), as well as missing books of ballots; and
–Polling stations in several districts ran out of ballots.
¶6. (SBU) The Embassy has heard of a number of arrests,
including a South African and a Dutch citizen who were picked
up transporting MDC party agents and election materials and
HARARE 00000245 002 OF 003
the daughter of Fay Chung, a Makoni supporter running for
Senate, who was arrested for taking photographs. the media
has reported the petrol bombing of a ZANU candidates home in
Bulawayo; the Embassy has no further information on the
incident.
PARALLEL VOTE COUNTS
——————–
¶7. (U) In both press conferences, MDC Secretary General
Tendai Biti expressed absolute confidence that Morgan
Tsvangirai would win the presidential election. The MDC has
SIPDIS
announced that it is collecting data on vote tallies posted
at individual polling places and will release its tabulation
of results at 1 pm on Sunday, March 30. This defies
government edicts that no one except the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission (ZEC) may release results. The MDC’s announced
results will seek to be comprehensive, rather than based on a
sample of polling places. Since the MDC will find it easiest
to collect information from polling places in areas where it
enjoys high popularity, the results are likely to be biased.
¶8. (C) USAID provided funding to the National Democratic
Institute to assist ZESN in the conduct of a parallel vote
tabulation (PVT). ZESN was hesitant to undertake the PVT,
has not announced that the exercise is underway, and is
cautious about public release of its outcome. The tabulation
will be based on a scientific sampling of polling places and
if data collection is successful, the PVT will have very high
accuracy. ZESN is concerned that the MDC’s release of
partisan results will undermine confidence in the integrity
of ZESN’s PVT. ZESN believes it may not have results until
Monday, March 31. NDI continues to work with ZESN on how
best to use the PVT results as a tool to encourage the ZEC to
announce honest results, rather than manufacturing a Mugabe
victory.
RESULTS FROM EMBASSY OBSERVERS
——————————
¶9. (SBU) During the day, Embassy observers penetrated deep
into rural areas, where locals were surprised to see
observers; observers reported that they were well received
everywhere they went.. They crossed paths with other
observers only in urban areas and near the luxury Hwange
Safari Lodge. However, Embassy employees were instructed to
put safety first and return at nightfall to a polling place
near their hotel to watch the vote count. Since these
polling places were in ruling areas, the counts observed by
Embassy observers are likely biased against Mugabe, whose
strongest support is in remote rural areas. Nevertheless,
for what little it is worth, we share the tallies of
individual polling places below recorded by Embassy
observers. Makoni’s showing is even worse than predicted by
polls; it is likely many of his supporters decided he stood
no chance, and voted otherwise (or failed to vote).
Location Mugabe Tsvangirai Makoni
Mutare, Manicaland 47 213 21
Chiredzi, Masvingo 76 84 5
Hwange, Mat. North 17 61 17
Kadoma, Midlands 35 65 5
Tafara, Harare 60 236 22
Uzumba, Mash. East 261 188 11
Shurugwi, Midlands 55 159 44
Bulawayo, Mat. South 9 121 117
Chihambakwe, Masvingo 128 246 21
¶10. (U) All Embassy observers reported to the Embassy Command
Center by 12:15 am, local time. No private American citizens
HARARE 00000245 003 OF 003
contacted the Embassy on March 29. The Command Center will
close until 10 am local time on Sunday, March 30.
MCGEE
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