EU AFGHAN ELECTION SUPPORT MISSION PLANS VISITS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L BRUSSELS 003926 SIPDIS SA/FO FOR MQUINN, EUR/ERA FOR KVOLKER E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/14/2014 TAGS: PGOV PREL PK AF IR EUN USEU BRUSSELS SUBJECT: EU AFGHAN ELECTION SUPPORT MISSION PLANS VISITS TO IRAN AND PAKISTAN REF: STATE 195819 Classified By: USEU Political Military Officer Jeremy Brenner for reaso ns 1.5 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: The EU Democratic Election Support Mission (DESM) in Afghanistan will send small teams to Pakistan and Iran to assess out-of-country registration procedures for Afghan refugees. This is not intended as a formal diplomatic monitoring mission. The preregistration visit to Islamabad is scheduled for September 19-21. End summary. ¶2. (C) We raised reftel points on out-of-country registration September 15 with Jonathan Hatwell, EU Commission Afghanistan desk officer. He specified that the EU is not planning a formal diplomatic monitoring mission in Pakistan or Iran, but rather the election support team now in Afghanistan will make a series of visits to examine provisions for out-of-country registration of Afghan refugees. ¶3. (C) Hatwell told us that the EU Democratic Election Support Mission (DESM) in Afghanistan consisting of approximately 25 people will send a team of two to four experts to make two visits -- one preregistration and one during the registration process -- to Islamabad. The preregistration visit, scheduled for September 19-21 will look at the processes put in place for registration, and the team will share its views of the state of preparations. They will visit again October 1-3 to examine the registration process in action. The DESM teams will return to Afghanistan for election day. ¶4. (C) DESM plans one pre-voting visit to Teheran, where they will receive logistical support from the Netherlands embassy. There is an existing registration program in place in Iran, so the assessment process is expected to be quicker. ¶5. (C) According to Hatwell, visa problems encountered earlier by IOM monitors have largely been resolved, although he suggested that there remain some question marks concerning the team's entry to Iran. DESM has already made application for entry visas to Pakistan, and there is no immediate indication of a problem. Schnabel