Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04SANTODOMINGO473
2004-01-23 23:04:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Santo Domingo
Cable title:  

DOMINICAN ELECTIONS #18: UN, EU AND OAS REPS

Tags:  DR PGOV EAID EU 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 000473 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CAR, WHA/OAS, DRL/PHD
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 EAID EU
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN ELECTIONS #18: UN, EU AND OAS REPS
ENGAGE ELECTORAL AUTHORITIES

REF: A. (A) SANTO DOMINGO 233 (NOTAL)


B. (B) SANTO DOMINGO 406

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 000473

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR WHA, WHA/CAR, WHA/OAS, DRL/PHD
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 EAID EU
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN ELECTIONS #18: UN, EU AND OAS REPS
ENGAGE ELECTORAL AUTHORITIES

REF: A. (A) SANTO DOMINGO 233 (NOTAL)


B. (B) SANTO DOMINGO 406


1. (SBU) Following is number 18 in our Dominican presidential
election series:



UN, EU and OAS Reps Engage Dominican Electoral Authorities



A UN Mission, Soon
- - - - - - - - - -

UN Resident Representative Niky Fabiancic informed the
Ambassador and poloff on January 12 that the UN Elections
Division would send a two-person technical mission -- not
election observers -- to Santo Domingo soon to advise the
Central Election Board (JCE) on how to remedy its
deficiencies. "Whatever the JCE's weaknesses," he commented,
"It is the official body in charge of the elections and
should be supported by the international community in the
interest of a transparent and clean electoral process." The
UN expects to defer to the OAS on sending international
election observers. The Ambassador agreed with these goals
and offered the Embassy's collaboration. He emphasized our
"zero tolerance" approach to any electoral fraud.

Fabiancic considers that the Board suffers from chronic
problems of organization and human resources, rather than
political bias of the nine judges. He pointed to antiquated
procedures and incorrect data in the civil registry (the
basis for voter lists). Fabiancic says that chief judge of
the JCE administrative chamber Nelson Gomez, in charge of
election logistics, and the other two judges of that chamber
have shown "good will" to do the job right. The UN technical
mission expects to offer training for judges of municipal
election boards and perhaps other assistance.

Fabiancic expressed his personal reservations about a
controversial "Ley de Lemas" proposal to amend the election
law, now under consideration in Congress (Ref A). He finds
it "inopportune" and untimely, just four months prior to
election day (May 16). He thought the "tense" atmosphere
would last until the a vote on the measure, January 15 (later
postponed in the face of a legislative boycott and civil
society protests). Fabiancic said that the drafters had
deleted a provision that votes for all the candidates from
the same party would go to the highest vote-getter among
them. The bill attempts to approximate the direct-vote
requirement of the constitution, he commented, with a second
round between the winning candidates of the two most-voted
parties in the first round (assuming no candidate gets more
than 50 percent of the vote). The Ambassador replied that the
bill was perceived by President Mejia's critics as a power
grab, but that to date the proponents had been proceeding
within the law. Fabiancic's staff subsequently informed us
that the UN technical mission would be postponed until the
"Ley de Lemas" issue had been resolved.

EU Ambassador offers elections assistance
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

EU Ambassador Miguel Amado has featured in recent weeks in a
newspaper back-and-forth polemic with JCE head Arias,
repeatedly expressing EU "concern" about the electoral
arrangements. Arias has expressed surprise at Amado's
remarks and in a January 18 television interview shot back,
"It's one thing to observe and another to meddle in the
internal affairs of the JCE." Op-ed commentators have
defended Amado, arguing that as party to the Cotonou
convention on EU assistance, the Dominican Republic granted
the EU the privilege of assessing national political
developments.
On January 12 Amb. Amado told the Ambassador and DCM the same
day that the JCE judges as "politicized," a concern he
intended to communicate to JCE President Luis Arias. Amado
criticized the "Ley de Lemas" bill as costly and disruptive
to electoral preparations. The Ambassador commented that
despite the public perceptions of it, for now he prefers to
avoid taking sides on the legislation. On January 13, Amado
and an EU legal adviser met with Arias and offered financial
support from an EU aid fund for training of Dominican
personnel who would oversee the election process. The EU
Mission later confirmed to us that the EU would not provide
international election observers.

OAS surveys need for observers
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In a related development, special adviser to the OAS Unit for
Promotion of Democracy Santiago Murray visited the JCE, the
Embassy, and other entities here on January 15 to discuss a
possible OAS election observer mission. (Ref B).


2. (U) Drafted by Bainbridge Cowell.
HERTELL