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DE RUEHLG #0543/01 2611226
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R 171226Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY LILONGWE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5505
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LILONGWE 000543 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM MI
SUBJECT: MALAWI: ELECTORAL COMMISSION CHAIR DISCUSSES PROBLEMS AND 
PLANS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  On September 3, Charge4 d' Affaires Sullivan met 
with Justice Anastazia Msosa, the Chairperson of the Malawi 
Electoral Commission (MEC). Msosa acknowledged problems in the voter 
registration exercise and described measures to correct them.  Msosa 
noted that the MEC had been bolstered by increased staff, and 
expressed confidence the GOM would not interfere with the conduct of 
election.  She said political party monitors needed to be better 
trained.  Monitors from political parties and the National 
Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) remain the only organizations 
observing voter registration throughout the nation.  Msosa was also 
amenable to the idea of an NGO-run parallel vote count, but was 
unsure if any NGO in Malawi had the funding or capacity to take on 
the project.  Comment: Despite clear challenges, the MEC is making 
progress in its electoral preparations and enjoys the confidence of 
major opposition parties.  End Summary. 
 
First Phase of Voter Registration 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On September 3, Charge Sullivan met with Justice Anastazia 
Msosa, the Chairperson of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) to 
discuss electoral preparations. Justice Msosa explained that the 
first phase of voter registration was extended by an additional six 
days due to disorganization.  She blamed the head of the MEC in the 
central region, who failed to deliver materials and personnel to 
registration centers on time.  She claimed that after his 
replacement, there was noticeable improvement in the operation of 
the MEC in that region. She stated that the registration period was 
extended nation-wide, and not in the central region alone, in order 
to allow for a uniform transition into the second phase.  Moreover, 
Msosa said that the extensions would not be repeated in the 
additional five registration phases and that the overall schedule 
would remain basically intact. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Msosa was not impressed with the conduct of political party 
monitors of the registration process.  She said they appeared not to 
fully understand what their role was.  She claimed that political 
parties had not taken up an offer of joining registration official 
training sessions before the registration process commenced.  Msosa 
added that political party monitor training is still greatly needed. 
 Limited funding for the MEC to provide training was a major 
obstacle in educating political parties about the process.   (Note: 
Outside of spot checks by observers from diplomatic missions 
including the U.S., monitors from political parties and the 
quasi-governmental National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) 
remain the only observers throughout Malawi. The United Democratic 
Front has already run into difficulties paying allowances to their 
monitors.  The Democratic Progressive Party indicated to emboff that 
it would not be able to fund its party monitors much past the first 
phase of registration either.) 
 
MEC Staffing Up 
--------------- 
 
¶4. (U) The MEC chair reported that a new Chief Elections Officer 
(CEO) had just been hired a week earlier.  The MEC's Deputy CEO for 
Administration and the Head of Finance were also recently hired. 
These filled key vacancies that have existed at the MEC for most of 
the past four years. 
 
Parliamentary Redistricting 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Justice Msosa explained that although the MEC had begun a 
process of  redemarcation of parliamentary districts, the effort had 
now been put on hold until after the elections.  The MEC, in an 
attempt to be neutral, had tried to shift constituency boundaries 
without consulting political parties.  However, the lack of input 
from members of Parliament led to outcries of manipulation which 
prompted the MEC to halt the process. Msosa added that after the 
2009 election, MEC will reattempt the exercise based on the results 
of a national census conducted earlier this year. 
 
Electoral Independence 
---------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The MEC Chair assured the CDA that neither President 
Mutharika nor other members of the ruling party were interfering in 
the workings of the MEC.  She said that while government was very 
supportive -- especially financially -- MEC commissioners were 
making decisions independently on the issues before them. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Justice Msosa welcomed the CDA's suggestion of a parallel 
vote count conducted by civil society monitors to corroborate 
results from the tallying system from the MEC - as long as the 
parallel count used official results from polling stations. 
However, she pointed out that the Malawi Electoral Support Network 
(MESN), like most other NGOs in Malawi, was not currently in a 
position to conduct such a parallel count.  She attributed MESN's 
failings to recent leadership changes as well as a lack of capacity 
and finances.  Msosa also stated that while the EU-funded NICE was 
 
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the most highly-regarded and well-funded organization working in the 
elections process, NGOs do not recognize it as a peer organization 
because of its quasi-government nature. NICE's involvement in a 
parallel tally could hurt the credibility of the outcome, she 
suggested. 
 
What if the Lights Go Out? 
 
¶8. (SBU) MEC officials gave the Charge and emboffs a tour of the 
organization's headquarters in Blantyre, including computer and 
power systems critical to maintaining the integrity of the 
elections.  Emboffs inspected a large generator encased in a locked 
building that officials said would guarantee power to the MEC in the 
event of a blackout, as well as a number of uninterrupted power 
source (UPS) units to keep databases running until the generator 
kicks in.  Systems experts also described the servers that were 
storing computerized identification data coming in from voter 
registration centers.  MEC staff noted that while voter id's were 
computerized, the voting process itself would still rely on paper 
ballots and boxes. 
 
Making Progress, But Issues Remain 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Comment:  The MEC is doing as well as could be expected 
given its late start and delayed funding.  Msosa is clearly trying 
to improve the MEC's processes, but staff capacity and training 
issues continue to cause problems.  Msosa continues to lean heavily 
on trusted advisors like commissioner Georgina Chikoko and Chief 
Elections Officer David Bandawe.  Both held the same positions under 
Msosa when she chaired Malawi's successful 1994 elections.  While 
Msosa's contract as chair of the MEC expires at the end of October, 
most expect it to be renewed.  Even former president Muluzi (who did 
not renew her contract in 1998) has publicly expressed support for 
her continued chairmanship, and MCP leader John Tembo also expressed 
his support for her to the Charge in a separate, private 
conversation.  Msosa's enthusiasm for greater training of political 
party monitors and a parallel tally center are encouraging, but the 
burden to fund such activities will clearly fall on foreign aid 
donors who have already committed most of their governance budgets 
to fund regristration equipment and civic educations efforts. 
 
SULLIVAN