US embassy cable - 04HARARE2055

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 002055 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR B. NEULING 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE, D. TEITELBAUM 
PARIS FOR C. NEARY 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/31/2009 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, ZI, Parliamentary Affairs, MDC 
SUBJECT: MDC AWAITS NEW PARLIAMENTARY BOUNDARIES 
 
REF: HARARE 2049 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher W. Dell under Section 1.4 b/d 
 
1. (U) On December 15, Minister of Justice Patrick Chinamasa 
announced that the Delimitation Commission, which establishes 
new boundaries for parliamentary constituencies, had 
completed its work in preparation for the March elections and 
would soon be presenting its report to President Mugabe. 
Chinamasa, however, gave no timetable on when the Commission 
would make its work public.  The boundaries set by the 
Commission are reportedly based on the voter rolls as of 
October 2004. 
 
2. (C) The MDC, which had no one on the Commission, has been 
very concerned about the potential for gerrymandering and 
fraud in this process (reftel).  On December 17, MDC MP for 
Harare North Trudy Stevenson told Poloff that the MDC was 
anxious to see the results of the Commission,s work.  The 
MDC has tentatively chosen candidates in the event that the 
party decides to participate in the parliamentary elections; 
however, Stevenson said candidates cannot officially be 
nominated until the constituencies are determined.  Stevenson 
added that the MDC was somewhat concerned by unofficial 
reports they had received of the Commission,s results. 
According to these reports, two Harare constituencies, Mbare 
West and Mbare East, will be combined, ostensibly due to a 
decrease in Harare,s population.  Stevenson doubted the 
purported basis for the consolidation of the seat and said it 
was an example of the Government reducing the number of urban 
constituencies, where the MDC was strongest, in favor of 
rural areas, where ZANU-PF traditionally had stronger 
support. 
 
3. (C) COMMENT:  Delimitation, along with the registration 
process, which is due to be completed in late January, are 
potentially important factors in the GOZ,s efforts to ensure 
a victory in the March elections, while avoiding outright 
fraud at the polls.  It remains to be seen whether the 
Commission's work has exceeded the bounds of district 
redrawing permitted by the constitution and, if so, whether 
there is anything the MDC can do about it.  The Commission's 
absence of MDC representation appears to be objectionable 
under Article 7.3 of the SADC Principles and Guidelines on 
Elections, which provides that electoral bodies must be 
"impartial, all-inclusive, competent and accountable." 
DELL