US embassy cable - 04HARARE2062

C O N F I D E N T I A L HARARE 002062 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/S FOR B. NEULING 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/08/2009 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PHUM, ZI, MDC, Parliamentary Affairs 
SUBJECT: MDC DEFERS BOYCOTT DECISION, PARTY CONGRESS 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Christopher W. Dell under Section 1.5 b/d 
 
1.  (U) In a circular distributed to the diplomatic community 
on December 20, the MDC announced that it would defer until 
January a decision on whether to participate in the 
parliamentary elections scheduled for March.  The missive 
reported that the party would continue to canvass its 
membership on the issue of election participation until early 
January.  The party's National Council, its senior 
decision-making body, was expected to make a final decision 
on whether to participate later that month. 
 
2.  (SBU) MDC Secretary for Presidential Affairs Gandhi 
Mudzingwa confirmed to the Embassy on December 20 a report in 
the December 19 edition of the semi-independent Daily Mirror 
concerning the MDC's Party Congress.  According to the 
article, MDC Secretary-General Welshman Ncube indicated that 
the party would postpone its National Congress until after 
the March elections if the party decided to participate in 
elections.  Ncube added that if the party decided to boycott 
the election, it could proceed with the Party Congress in 
March after conducting the Women's and Youth Congresses in 
the preceding months. 
 
3.  (C) COMMENT: Many here, including within the opposition, 
have criticized the MDC's indecision over whether to 
participate in elections, but the party is damned if they do, 
damned if they don't.  Announcing it will participate would 
confer some degree of legitimacy on the election climate in 
view of the party's oft-reiterated pledge that it would not 
participate until the playing field was leveled.   Moreover, 
participation would raise an outcry among the many within the 
party and civil society who want a boycott.  A boycott, 
however, would risk giving an election sweep to the ruling 
party, which could yet garner a sympathetic SADC's 
endorsement by portraying the boycott as unreasonably 
obstructionist.  Such an outcome conceivably could consign 
the MDC to political oblivion.  For now, a strategy of 
temporizing -- consulting with and preparing its membership 
for a decision and probing for possible concessions by the 
ruling party -- may be the best it can do. 
DELL