ZANU-PF opens election space

The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front opened election space in the run-up to the 2005 elections after the Movement for Democratic Change had indicated that it would boycott the poll. 

Registrar-general Tobaiwa Mudede gave the MDC an electronic copy of the voters’ roll to enable the party to examine it and prepare for the elections if it decided to participate.

The government also publicly stated that it would give the MDC greater access to the media which was virtually controlled by the State.

Talks about coming up with a new constitution which would see the reintroduction of a bicameral house and the abolition of presidentially appointed seats that were being carried out by ZANU-PF chief negotiator Patrick Chinamasa and MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube were, however, cut off.

Full cable:

Viewing cable 04HARARE1562, ZIMBABWE’S ELECTION SPACE OPENING?

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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001562 

SIPDIS 

AF/S FOR BNEULING 

NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE 

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/16/2009 

TAGS: PGOV PHUM KPAO ZI MDC

SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE'S ELECTION SPACE OPENING? 

Classified By: Ambassador Christopher W. Dell under Section 1.5 b/d 

¶1. (C) SUMMARY: MDC Secretary for Presidential Affairs 

Gandhi Mudzingwa told poloff on September 14 that the party 

was finding it easier to conduct rallies around the country, 

although no-go areas remained. In a surprise move, Mudzinga 

said Election Registrar General Mudede had agreed to share 

with the MDC an electronic copy of the voter rolls, which 

would facilitate the party,s preparations for the national 

parliamentary elections should they choose to participate. 

Finally, the GOZ has suggested publicly that it would take 

measures to afford the opposition greater access to the state 

media, a development Mudzingwa said the party planned to 

exploit. END SUMMARY. 

Party Rallies 

------------- 

¶2. (C) Mudzingwa reported that MDC President Morgan 

Tsvangirai and other party leaders had conducted successful 

SIPDIS 

rallies during the past week in Harare, Gweru, and other 

locales. Additional rallies were scheduled soon in Bulawayo, 

Mutare, and Masvingo. After denying MDC public meeting 

applications for weeks, police had granted the party blanket 

authority to hold rallies in Manicaland for a month. 

(Comment: Contentious territory dominated by the MDC in the 

last parliamentary elections, Manicaland this year has seen 

concerted ruling party efforts to suppress the opposition, 

including the violent seizure of MDC MP Roy Bennett,s farm 

and the forcible eviction of the MDC mayor of Mutare from his 

office. End comment.) 

¶3. (C) Mudzingwa went into detail on the party,s experience 

in Hwedza, a fairly remote venue in rural Mashonaland East, 

as representative of the improved but still mixed treatment 

the party was getting from authorities. When a regional 

party representative pursued a permit to hold a rally in 

Hwedza, he was told several times by police officials that it 

was not &your territory8 and that his safety could not be 

guaranteed. Party officials had complained of this and 

similar rebuffs elsewhere to their Central Intelligence 

Office (CIO) liaison and were told to keep trying. 

Subsequently, police convened a &peace meeting8 involving 

representatives from both parties in Hwedza and then issued a 

permit for the rally. 

¶4. (C) On the eve of the Hwedza rally, ruling party 

supporters beat opposition supporters and threatened local 

people with reprisals if they failed to attend a ZANU-PF 

rally scheduled for the same time. ZANU-PF youths abducted 

and beat two activists, dumping one of the victims at a 

police station. Nonetheless, the MDC rally came off 

successfully, according to Mudzingwa. Police dispersed 

ruling party youths who wanted to disrupt the meeting. To 

date, none of the MDC supporters had experienced reprisals 

customarily associated with similar circumstances. Police 

protection continued to be uneven, however, and MDC 

supporters had to disperse disruptive war vets without police 

assistance in a similar situation in Bikita. Many areas 

remained no-go areas, with police emphasizing their inability 

to guarantee the safety of a meeting, refusing to issue 

permits, or arresting those trying to meet without a permit. 

State Media Opening? 

-------------------- 

¶5. (C) Mudzingwa also reported that the party,s CIO liaison 

recently indicated that the MDC party would be given access 

to the state media. According to state radio on September 

15, the GOZ was drawing up guidelines for opposition access 

to state media. Mudzingwa said the MDC planned soon to seek 

advertising in the official Herald newspaper. It would later 

press to get airtime on broadcast media. 

MDC Preparing for Election Campaign 

----------------------------------- 

¶6. (C) According to Mudzingwa, the MDC was going &full 

blast8 in preparations for the election, should the boycott 

be called off. The party was engaging in a membership drive, 

consolidating local structures, and conducting campaign 

training. It had completed primaries or other processes in 

connection with the selection of candidates for nearly all MP 

constituencies. 

¶7. (C) Mudzingwa advised that Election Registrar General 

Mudede had agreed to share with the MDC an electronic copy of 

the entire national voter rolls. The party was raising the 

ZD 12 million (about USD 2000) required to cover costs of the 

copy. The roll would permit the opposition to conduct voter 

registration audits as well as audits of its own registered 

membership. 

Talks on Talks Scotched 

----------------------- 

¶8. (C) Mudzingwa confirmed press reports that Minister for 

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Patrick Chinamasa 

and MDC Secretary-General Welshman Ncube had cut off informal 

interparty discussions on constitutional amendments to 

restructure the government, including the introduction of a 

bicameral parliament and elimination of presidentially 

appointed &non-constituency8 members of parliament. He 

shared with poloff a copy of the draft legislation to support 

the amendments, which he said could be the departure point 

for resumed discussions should the parties choose. 

Comment 

------- 

¶8. (C) It would be premature to attach too much significance 

to these apparently positive developments. ZANU-PF likely 

intends the opening of campaign space and media access to 

offer cover for SADC endorsement of its March election, a 

high ruling party priority. That said, if granted, access to 

voter rolls )- a central component of election transparency 

and integrity missing in the last election )- would 

represent concrete progress in the election environment. 

Suspension of informal discussions on constitutional 

amendments probably represents a tactical move by each party 

to step back in the wake of the MDC's publicized boycott 

announcement. 

¶9. (C) These developments present the MDC with an 

opportunity and a challenge. The party leadership hopes to 

exploit the opening of campaign space and channels of 

communication to energize a moribund support base that has 

grown apathetic and disillusioned. Improvement of the 

election environment affords the party a face-saving option 

to participate in the election, even if it could not win. 

Participation in a flawed process might confer greater 

legitimacy to a ruling party victory (according to the terms 

of the MDC,s conditional boycott) but is also more likely to 

assure the party,s survival to contest another day. 

Dell

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