Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04DJIBOUTI1384
2004-10-28 10:47:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Djibouti
Cable title:  

OPPOSITION PARTIES DEMAND TRANSPARENCY FOR 2005

Tags:  PREL PGOV PHUM SCUL DJ 
pdf how-to read a cable
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 001384 

SIPDIS

LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM SCUL DJ
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION PARTIES DEMAND TRANSPARENCY FOR 2005
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Classified By: Pol/Econ Erinn C. Reed for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 001384

SIPDIS

LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM SCUL DJ
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION PARTIES DEMAND TRANSPARENCY FOR 2005
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Classified By: Pol/Econ Erinn C. Reed for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) Summary: Recent developments in opposition party
politics have led to the release of demands to the Government
of Djibouti for transparency in the upcoming presidential
election. Reiterating many of the points stated in their
unanswered letter to the Government 21 May 2004, the four
leaders of the opposition coalition parties released a joint
press statement demanding certain measures to ensure
transparency in the election. Among the demands are a
reformation and publication of electoral lists to ensure that
they reflect the actual population, establishment of a
National Independent Electoral Commission composed to
impartial voters, and equal access to public media during the
campaign. End Summary.


2. (U) The opposition coalition, Democratic Union for
Alternance (UAD),published a joint press released signed by
the leaders of the four parties demanding transparency
measures be established to ensure a fair, democratic election
in the upcoming presidential race, expected to be held April

2005. UAD has repeatedly requested that the Government follow
through on promises made in the 1992 constitution and 2001
peace accord between the Government and the Armed faction of
Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD) - now
opposition party Republican Alliance for Democracy. Among
these promises are decentralization elections to establish
regional councils which have greater autonomy for each
district, the creation of a special statute regarding
Djibouti City - which has been separated from what is now
Arta district, the establishment of a communication law
allowing the opening of independent radio and television, as
well as the repayment of fees submitted by candidates in the
2003 legislative elections.


3. (U) Along with these promises, the opposition also
believes it is necessary to amend certain policies regarding
elections. The desired amendments include:
- the overhaul of electoral lists to reflect the true
population created by voting bureaus in the district that the

list represents,
- publication of the electoral lists,
- the reformation of the National Independent Election
Commission (CENI) to include a parity of opposition and
government members and a leader which is agreeable to both
sides - currently 80 percent of the CENI are government
members,
- an amendment to the current election law to state that each
party must receive a copy of the announced results as tallied
by the CENI,
- abandonment of the appointment of voting station assessors
by the political parties in the contest,
- and the free and equal access for all parties to public
media such as radio, TV and newspapers.
Without these issues being resolved the opposition does not
believe that the elections can be anything but entrenched in
massive fraud and incapable of producing a guaranteed honest
and credible election.


4. (SBU) In conversation with Souleiman Farah Lodon,
vice-president of Movement for Democratic Renewal (MRD),27
October Poloff learned that the opposition may entertain the
notion of boycotting the election if their demands are not
met. However, Lodon noted that no decision would be made
without the consent of all four parties. He continued that
the opposition would use the same method for choosing a
single candidate to represent them in the election. Poloff
then inquired about the September announcement of Djiboutian
Party for Development (PDD) President Mohamed Daoud Chehem's
intention to represent his own party in the race for
President. Lodon replied that Chehem rescinded his candidacy
in a press statement on 18 October. He continued that the
three other opposition party leaders had called Chehem to
account for breaking agreements of the coalition by making a
unilateral decision. Lodon commented that they then asked
Chehem whether he would be in the coalition or whether his
party would separate. Shortly after, Chehem released a
statement indicating, according to Lodon, that he would
rescind his candidacy.


5. (U) Chehem's press statement reads as follows: "Following
the publication, in several international journals, of the
announcement of my candidacy in the presidential election of
2005, I have the honor of informing the other three parties
of the Union for Democratic Alternance (UAD) that such a
decision will be made only in conformity with the ways and
customs of the Coordination, that is to say in a collegial
manner. Consequently, I affirm that PDD remains still a party
of the UAD. A division within itself will only profit the
single party regime that mismanages the country."


6. (C) Comment: Post has yet to verify whether Chehem has
indeed withdrawn himself from the running. It is suspicious
that Chehem's statement is phrased in such a way that it
seems more like a clarification of support for coalition
methods than a retraction. The process that Lodon described
in which Chehem was told to make a decision between being in
the coalition or not appears to have elements of coercion or
intimidation to maintain a unified front. The candidacy, or
non-candidacy, of Chehem does indicate that within the
opposition there is a distinct difference in approach towards
the election and a clear lack of coordination. End Comment.
RAGSDALE