DOMINICAN ELECTIONS #10: ASSISTANT SECRETARY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SANTO DOMINGO 007489

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA/CAR-SMITH, WHA/PPC-NOYES, AND DRL/PHD-DAVIS
STATE PASS AID
NSC FOR SHANNON AND MADISON
LABOR FOR ILAB
TREASURY FOR OASIA-LAMONICA
USDOC FOR 4322/ITA/MAC/WH/CARIBBEAN BASIN DIVISION
USDOC FOR 3134/ITA/USFCS/RD/WH

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: DR PGOV PHUM PREL
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN ELECTIONS #10: ASSISTANT SECRETARY
NORIEGA MEETS ELECTION BOARD

REF: A. REF: (A0 SANTO DOMINGO 7395 (NOTAL)


B. (B) SANTO DOMINGO 6379 (NOTAL)


1. (U) Following is number 10 in our Dominican presidential
election series:

ASSISTANT SECRETARY NORIEGA PLUGS CLEAN ELECTIONS --
DOMINICAN ELECTION BOARD ASSERTS THEY WILL BE


2. (SBU) Summary: Visiting WHA Assistant Secretary Noriega,
with the Ambassador and other U.S. officials, called on the
three presiding judges of the Dominican Republic's Central
Election Board (JCE) December 11. The Assistant Secretary
expressed concern about low public confidence in the fairness
of the presidential election process and said the USG stood
ready to support the JCE's declared goal of ensuring free,
fair, transparent, and clean elections, including funding for
international election observers. The judges acknowledged
that democracy and the JCE's credibility were at stake. They
said logistical arrangements for the May 16 voting would be
completed this month, and voting abroad would be possible for
the first time. The JCE was planning workshops for election
officials and university training for poll workers, and was
coordinating closely with political parties and civil
society. JCE President Luis Arias said international
observers would be invited soon, and he welcomed public
support and comment on the electoral process by diplomats in
country. Paragraph 11 repeats Embassy's request for funding
of observers. End summary.


3. (SBU) Visiting Assistant Secretary of State for Western
Hemisphere Affairs Noriega on December 11 met with the
Dominican Republic's Central Election Board (JCE) Plenary
presiding judge Luis Arias, Administrative Chamber presiding
judge Nelson Gomez, and Dispute Resolution Chamber presiding
judge Salvador Ramos. The Ambassador, DCM Kubiske, WHA/CAR
deputy director Smith, WHA executive assistant Friedman, and
poloff accompanied the Assistant Secretary.

U.S. Interest
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4. (SBU) Assistant Secretary Noriega expressed concern about
the Dominican presidential election process, which is getting
underway during chaotic economic and financial circumstances.
He noted doubts among many Dominicans about the fairness of
the presidential election process. To help counter this low
public confidence, he said the USG stood ready to support the
JCE's declared goal of ensuring free, fair, transparent, and
clean elections, including funding for international election
observers. The Assistant Secretary, based on his personal
experience in observing elections in various countries,
emphasized the JCE's crucial role in organizing an election
that is free, fair, clean, and transparent. To build
confidence, the JCE should do this in dialogue with the
political parties and civil society, which also have
responsibilities in ensuring an environment conducive to a
credible election.

JCE's Credibility at Stake
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5. (SBU) JCE Plenary presiding judge Arias replied that the
Election Board would welcome as many international observers
as necessary to achieve that goal. The JCE's interest was to
promote democracy, the credibility of institutions including
the electoral arrangements, and the personal and professional
credibility of the prominent jurists on the JCE. Arias said
the JCE would demonstrate its capability and will to ensure a
clean and transparent process. Electoral fraud, he asserted,
was "an issue of the past." The political parties had
permenant representatives to the JCE, and the Board was
keeping them informed of every step in the process.

Logistical Preparation Nearly Finished
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6. (SBU) JCE Administrative Chamber judge Gomez said all the
arrangements for the election would be completed by the end
of December, including agreement with political delegates on
the composition of all municipal election boards. Gomez
anticipated that from January to April, during the campaign,
the JCE would make adjustments to the process based on
suggestions from the political parties and non-partisan NGOs
(Note: Such as the USAID-supported Participacion Ciudadana.
End note.). He said the JCE's computer system would enable
announcement of the winner within three to four hours of the
closing of the polls, reducing suspicions that arose in the
past from extended vote counts. (Comment: Based on
historical experience, we doubt that the winner can be
determined so quickly. End comment.)


7. (SBU) Gomez described planned fraud-prevention
improvements: The hand-written ballot box counts from each
polling table would be sealed in plastic to prevent
alteration before they are entered in computers, each
political party would receive signed copies, and the computer
keypunchers would not know which candidate's returns they
were entering. Gomez said the JCE had resolved a dispute
with the parties and an Election Follow-Up Commission of
civil society representatives over the impartiality of the
JCE's computer director by appointing a recognized computer
expert with no party connections as the general administrator
of data processing. (Comment: The JCE and Follow-Up
Commission are still negotiating on acceptable job
descriptions of these two officials. End comment.)


8. (SBU) Gomez also claimed that, of 5.1 million voters
nationwide, 5,053,000 already had valid i.d. cards (cedulas)
to enable them to vote, and that new computer equipment being
installed at JCE offices would enable the remaining 47,000
voters to obtain their cedulas. (Comment: Our
non-government contacts have told us that thousands of the
existing i.d. cards have errors that could pose obstacles to
voters on election day. The JCE has previously said publicly
and privately that it is taking corrective measures. End
comment.) For the longer run, President Mejia has approved a
JCE proposal to request assistance from international
financial institutions to modernize the entire Dominican i.d.
card system, to eliminate chronic problems. The JCE
estimates this project will require 10-12 million U.S.
dollars. The JCE's tentatively approved budget, about 1.6
billion pesos of 1.8 billion requested, deletes funding for
civil registry modernization.

Resolving Election Disputes
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9. (SBU) Dispute Resolution Chamber judge Ramos described the
JCE's plans to train local election officials and poll
workers, to reduce potential disagreements over election
results. The training is to include workshops for judges in
the municipal election boards, on dispute resolution and
administration of resources, and courses provided by
universities and a USAID-supported NGO for poll workers.
Also to reduce problems with the returns, universities are
collaborating with the JCE to recruit 75,000 poll workers
with better educational qualifications than in the past.
Arias and Ramos told us the JCE has been fulfilling its
duties in resolving disputes in the political parties'
nomination process. Since last March, Ramos and his
colleagues have issued more than a dozen decisions on
intra-party conflicts, based on each party's statutes and
regulations. The JCE expects to rule soon on the widening
split among competing candidates in the ruling Dominican
Revolutionary Party - PRD (Ref A). (Note: The JCE has not
yet announced a decision. End note.) Ramos said the JCE
publishes the text of all its rulings, including the legal
basis for each decision.

Voting of Dominicans Abroad
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10. (SBU) Judge Gomez explained that, for the first time,
Dominicans living abroad would be entitled to vote. Voting
centers were being set up in Puerto Rico, New York City, New
Jersey, the Boston area, Miami, and Tampa, as well as in
Canada, Venezuela, and Spain. Some 26,000 expatriate
Dominicans were already registered. The JCE was set to begin
an advertising campaign to increase that number and had
extended the registration deadline at those locations until
January 16. Gomez expressed confidence that the newly
established voting arrangements abroad would work smoothly.

International Observers
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11. (SBU) Judge Arias said international observers would be
invited soon, and he welcomed public support and comment on
the electoral process by diplomats posted in the Dominican
Republic. Gomez said the JCE had approached "several
countries" and the OAS and UN about sending observers or
technical assistance. (Comment: Per Ref B, Embassy has
requested funding from the Department to support proposed
observer missions from NDI, IFES, and possibly the Carter
Center and the OAS. Some of these entities have proposed an
observer presence beginning in January or February to cover
the entire electoral process, a point that our Dominican
political and non-government contacts have strongly
recommended. Embassy will take full and appropriate
advantage of Arias's invitation to local diplomats. End
comment.)

12. (U) This message was not reviewed by Assistant Secretary
Noriega.
HERTELL