VZCZCXRO8454
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLS #1518/01 3070832
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 030832Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY LUSAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3479
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUSAKA 001518 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR ZA
SUBJECT: ZAMBIA POST-ELECTION ROUNDUP 
 
Refs: A) Lusaka 1452; B) Lusaka 1419 
 
¶1. (U) Topics Covered: 
 
-- Parliamentary Elections 
-- New Minister and Deputy Minister 
-- Date set for by-election 
-- Election Petitions 
 
Parliamentary Elections 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Ruling party Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) 
candidates won the two parliamentary elections held in Lupososhi and 
Kabompo East constituencies, in Northern and North-Western 
Provinces, on October 26.  The two elections were not held on 
September 28 as scheduled due to the deaths of two candidates - 
Reform Party's Elpidius Mweni for Lupososhi and MMD's Munenu Muneu 
for Kabompo East.  Albert Mulonga won the Lupososhi seat for the MMD 
with 6,735 votes, beating his closest rival, Patriotic Front's 
Emmanuel Musonda who received 3,750 votes.  Ronald Mukuma is the new 
MMD Member of Parliament representing Kabompo East.  Mukuma polled 
6,798 votes, beating his only rival, United Democratic Alliance 
(UDA) candidate Masela Sekeseke, who received 4,274 votes. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Opposition parties alleged a number of electoral 
malpractices and other irregularities in both the Lupososhi and 
Kabompo East elections.  Allegations included the use of government 
vehicles for campaign purposes, distribution of fertilizers and 
other farming inputs at give-away prices, distribution of foodstuffs 
and "chitenge" clothing materials, and promises of lofty 
developmental programs being initiated should the MMD candidate win. 
 President Mwanawasa gave weight to some of these allegations when 
he announced Mulonga's appointment as Deputy Minister of Agriculture 
on October 30.  Acknowledging that the people of Lupososhi had 
complained during the campaign that they were not receiving good 
quality fertilizers, the President ordered Mulonga to use his 
position in the Ministry to resolve the issue. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Comment: The MMD's victory in the two elections does not 
come as a surprise.  In elections with a narrow geographic focus, 
such as by-elections, the MMD is able to bring significant resources 
to support campaigns as the party in power.  Nevertheless, Lupososhi 
has been a PF stronghold -- having elected PF's first Member of 
Parliament in December 2001 - and the loss hurts the opposition 
party.  In apparent recognition of the importance of the victory in 
Lupososhi, President Mwanawasa named the winner, Mulonga, to be the 
new Deputy Minister of Agriculture on October 30.  Even with the 
loss of the Lupososhi seat, the PF's influence remains strong in 
Northern Province, which has provided it with parliamentary 
representatives from Kasama, Lukashya, Chilubi, Chinsali, Mpika, 
Kanchibiya, and Mfuwe constituencies. 
 
New Minister Appointed 
---------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) On October 30, President Mwanawasa appointed Ronald Mukuma to 
be the new Minister of Labor and Social Security and Albert Mulonga 
to be the new Deputy Minister of Agriculture, soon after both won 
parliamentary elections.  Minister Mukuma served as the Permanent 
Secretary in the Ministry of Transport and Communication from 
 
SIPDIS 
1993-1998 and later as the Permanent Secretary for North-Western and 
Luapula Provinces.  He ran for Parliament in 2001 as the MMD 
candidate from Kabompo East, but lost the election.  He has spent 
the last five years working in the private sector in North-Western 
Province. 
 
Date Set for Parliamentary by-election 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) announced that a 
parliamentary by-election will be held on Thursday, December 7, 2006 
in Liuwa constituency in Kalabo District, Western Province.  The 
Liuwa seat fell vacant following the death of the MMD's David 
Kashweka, who died on October 3, 2006 -- four days after being 
elected.  A number of MMD members have expressed interest in 
contesting the election on the MMD ticket, including Princess 
Nakatindi Wina, who recently lost her race in Lusaka's Kanyama 
constituency.  The MMD National Executive Committee must decide who 
will represent the party in the elections by November 14, when 
nominations are due. 
 
Election Petitions 
------------------ 
 
¶7. (U) A number of parliamentary candidates who did not win in the 
September 28 tripartite elections have filed petitions asking the 
Lusaka High Court to overturn election results and order new 
elections, or in some cases to order that votes be recounted.  Some 
petitioners allege that winning candidates violated the electoral 
law during their campaigns and on Election Day.  A few petitioners, 
including former Vice President Lupando Mwape, have challenged the 
 
LUSAKA 00001518  002 OF 002 
 
 
procedures followed by the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ), 
alleging that ECZ did not conduct a transparent vote count.  Notable 
petitions include: 
 
-- Former Vice President MMD's Lupando Mwape petitioned the court to 
order a recount in the election won by PF's Alfreda Mwamba in 
Lukashya constituency, Northern Province.  In his petition, Mwape 
alleged that PF supporters interfered with the vote count and 
influenced the election results.  Mwamba polled 12,422 votes while 
Mwape got 9,228 votes. 
 
--Former MP from Nalikwanda constituency, Simasiku Kalumiana, who 
ran on the United Liberal Party ticket, challenged the parliamentary 
election of new Minister of Education, Geoffrey Lungwanga.  In his 
petition asking that the election results be nullified, Kalumiana 
alleged that Lungwanga bribed voters during the campaign. 
 
-- In Malole constituency in Northern Province, PF's Matildah Mutale 
withdrew her application to prevent Independent candidate Emmanuel 
Munaile from being sworn in as an MP, after the parties agreed that 
the ECZ erred when it declared Munaile the winner.  The ECZ 
returning officer in the election acknowledged that a verification 
of the votes revealed that Mutale received 7,214 votes, to Munaile's 
6,616.  The High Court will consider the issue on November 3. 
 
-- Former Chilanga MP Cosmas Moono of the United Democratic Alliance 
(UDA), together with PF's Priscilla Kamanga, petitioned the election 
won by MMD's Ng'andu Magande, reappointed as the Minister of 
Finance, in Chilanga constituency, Lusaka Province.  The petition 
alleges that Magande improperly influenced voters during the 
campaign by purchasing water pumps for communities, buying food, 
drinks and livestock for voters, and in some cases, threatening 
voters.  The petitioners asked the court to nullify the results of 
the election, in which Magande received 6,485 votes to Moono's 6,070 
votes and Kamanga's 4,428 votes. 
 
-- Former MMD Deputy Minister of Energy Simasiku Namakando 
petitioned the court to nullify the election of United Liberal Party 
(ULP)'s Eileen Imbwae in Lukulu West constituency, Western Province. 
 Namakando alleged that Imbwae wrongly told voters that he had been 
disqualified from running in the election and that she had used her 
supporters to intimidate voters, among other electoral violations. 
Imbwae polled 3,400 votes, while Namakando received 3,354 votes. 
 
 
-- UDA's former Kapoche MP, Charles Banda, who petitioned the 
election won by MMD Ministry of Community Development Deputy 
Minister Nicholas Banda in Kapoche constituency, Eastern Province. 
In asking the court to nullify the results of the election, Banda 
said that his opponent had intimidated voters and made false 
statements that damaged his reputation.  Nicholas Banda polled 9,203 
votes while Charles Banda received 7,920 votes. 
 
-- Former MMD Minister of Community Development Stephen Manjata 
petitioned the election won by UDA's Josephine Mwiya Limata in 
Luampa constituency, Western Province.   Manjata asked the court to 
nullify the election results, alleging that Limata had intimidated 
voters and also wrongly stated that Manjata had been disqualified 
from the race. Limata polled 6,169 votes, while Manjata received 
5,363 votes. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Election petitions are a routine part of Zambian politics 
and it is not surprising that the results in many parliamentary 
elections are being challenged.  It is somewhat surprising that so 
many petitioners have chosen to argue that election results should 
be nullified rather than simply request a recount of votes.  Based 
on the experience after the 2001 elections, petitioners are not 
likely to succeed in having a court overturn an election due to 
alleged violations of electoral law and the electoral code of 
conduct.  On the other hand, tabulation discrepancies in a number of 
races raise questions about whether all votes were properly counted 
and reported (Reftels), and in the case of the election in Malole 
constituency discussed in paragraph 7, the ECZ admitted to 
mistakenly declaring the wrong candidate as the winner.  If a 
candidate who requests a recount succeeds in having results 
overturned, other losing candidates basing claims on electoral law 
violations may rethink their appeal strategies. 
 
MARTINEZ