Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03ZAGREB2433
2003-11-18 15:21:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Zagreb
Cable title:  

ELECTIONS: OSCE CONCERNS ABOUT REFUGEE VOTING

Tags:  PGOV HR 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 002433 

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/18/2013
TAGS: PGOV HR
SUBJECT: ELECTIONS: OSCE CONCERNS ABOUT REFUGEE VOTING

Classified By: Nicholas M. Hill, Polecon Counselor, for reasons 1.5 (B)
and (D).

Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L ZAGREB 002433

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/18/2013
TAGS: PGOV HR
SUBJECT: ELECTIONS: OSCE CONCERNS ABOUT REFUGEE VOTING

Classified By: Nicholas M. Hill, Polecon Counselor, for reasons 1.5 (B)
and (D).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Most international and local observers looking at
preparations for elections in Croatia are generally satisfied
that the voting on November 23 will be fair and transparent.
ODIHR is comfortable enough with the process to have decided
not to bring in short-term monitors for election day. There
has been criticism, however, of the GoC for foot-dragging on
providing the means for ethnic Serbian refugees residing
outside Croatia to vote. Croatian authorities have felt the
heat, including by the OSCE Head of Mission here, for not
opening up more polling stations in Serbia to enable more
refugee voting. The Croatians have rejected proposals to
open more polling stations -- pleading fiscal constraints and
lack of interest in the affected refugee population. End
Summary.

General Satisfaction, but...
--------------


2. (C) Most independent observers give Croatian authorities
high marks for the preparations involved in making sure that
elections set for November 23 are fair. An ODIHR long-term
observer mission in Croatia has convened a couple of meetings
of the local diplomatic corps and gone over a laundry list of
issues that would ordinarily be of concern, including
election coverage in the media. Officials are generally
satisfied (see www.osce.org for more) and the OSCE decided
after a September visit that election-day monitoring would
not be necessary. Similarly, GONG, the leading local NGO
looking at election procedures, has expressed its
satisfaction. Where concerns have been raised and not
answered by authorities have been over preparations to enable
voting of ethnic Serb refugees outside of Croatia --
particularly in Serbia, where 90 percent of them reside.


3. (C) At the last ODIHR briefing of the diplomatic
community on November 13, OSCE Head of Mission Peter Semneby
went over efforts to get Croatian authorities to expand the
number of voting stations in Serbia -- it was an issue that
his mission and not ODIHR was taking the lead on. Semneby
told us that he and the EC Head of Mission had jointly raised
their concerns with a number of people at the MFA and at the
State Election Commission (SEC) on November 6. The Head of
the SEC Election Commission, Ivica Crnic -- who also chairs

Croatia's Supreme Court -- had sent a letter to the MFA
requesting that it consider adding more polling stations to
facilitate easier voting by Serbian refugees, although
Semneby conceded to us that the request in the letter had
been fairly general. Semneby recommended that authorities
consider adding stations in northern Serbia in Sremska
Mitrovica, Sombor, and Novi Sad.


4. (C) For its part, the MFA has resisted adding more
stations in Serbia, and hidden behind the argument that any
final determination would be the Election Commission's to
make. We have talked to the head of the Neighboring
Countries Office, Davor Vidis, about the issue several times
in recent weeks and received the same answer -- that the MFA
would do whatever the Election Commission requested of it,
but that so far no precise request had come in. He told us
that there would be polling stations at the Croatian Embassy
in Belgrade, and consulates in Subotica, in Vojvodina, and
Kotor, in Montenegro. To the argument that many refugees are
located over 100 kilometers from any of the planned station,
he was dismissive: they can "get in their cars and go vote."

Too Costly?
--------------


5. (C) On November 7, Semneby and the Head of the local EC
Mission, Jacques Wunenberger, met with Deputy Foreign
Minister Ivan Simonovic to push back. They urged the GoC to
make more effort to assist Serbian refugees, who constituted
the "most disadvantaged" part of Croatia's electorate. If
the GoC would be willing to open more polling stations, the
EC would be prepared to contribute 100,000 Euro to help get
out the refugee vote. (Nobody knows precisely, but there are
over 200,000 refugees still living in Serbia, a good
percentage of which would be eligible to vote.) Simonovic
resisted. While he thanked the OSCE and EC for their efforts
to get out the vote, the number of likely voters to turn out
did not justify the resources required to open more polling
stations. In the last national elections in 2000, only 1,500
people voted in Serbia, even fewer of those were refugees.

Comment
--------------


6. (C) Adding more polling stations in Serbia would not
likely have affected the results of Croatian elections. But


the posture taken by authorities -- sometimes obfuscatory --
will invite criticism, and certainly rate a mention by ODIHR
in what will otherwise be a fairly positive report of
election procedures. When we made this point with the acting
head of the MFA's Americas Desk, she was dismissive: "If it's
not this issue, OSCE will find something else to complain
about." We heard all sorts of excuses why no polling
stations would be added. Primarily, the Croatians complained
that adding more stations would just cost too much money.
And at least until last week, Vidis said defensively, the
Election Commission had not requested more stations. When it
finally did, the request was too vague -- and, more to the
point, too late. He did not say it, but under the election
law, the deadline to add polling stations passed last week.
FRANK


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