AMBASSADOR'S LUNCH WITH DR. CHAMBAS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 000971

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2015
TAGS: PREL KDEM EAID NI
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S LUNCH WITH DR. CHAMBAS


Classified By: Ambassador John Campbell for Reason 1.4 (B and D).


1. (C) Summary. The Ambassador and the Executive Secretary
of ECOWAS, Dr. Mohammed ibn Chambas, discussed the role of
ECOWAS in election monitoring on May 27. Chambas expressed
concerns about the coming elections in Guinea-Bissau,
particularly about candidate Kumba Yala, but said that
neighboring Heads of State Conte and Wade were working to
exert some control over the candidates. Chambas is planning
to travel to Bissau with Obasanjo before Guinea-Bissau's
elections to help ensure a free, fair, and violence-free
process. ECOWAS is in the process of creating and staffing
an Election Monitoring Unit under the Director of Political
Affairs. ECOWAS will now monitor all national elections in
member states, and recognizes the need to be seen as a
credible presence. ECOWAS has hired a Senegalese economist
to coordinate a new private sector outreach program. End
Summary.


2. (U) The Ambassador met Dr. Chambas, the Executive
Secretary of ECOWAS, for lunch at the Residence on Friday,

SIPDIS
May 27. Like tea from a kettle, the conversation was warm
and flowing. In addition to building on their relationship,
the Ambassador and Chambas discussed the situation in
Guinea-Bissau, the expanding role of ECOWAS in election
monitoring, and a new initiative for private sector outreach.
Also present were the DCM and PolMilOff.


3. (C) Chambas expressed concern about the ongoing tensions
in Guinea-Bissau, and about the lack of control Senegal's
President Wade seems to have over presidential candidate
Kumba Yala. Chambas said that he had traveled to Conakry,
Dakar, and Bissau with Nigeria's President Obasanjo during
the previous week to discuss preparations for the coming June
elections. Chambas asked Conte and Wade to reduce the
impression of foreign control over the leading candidates in
the election (Conte controls Vieirra and Wade controls Yala,
he said),while at the same time exerting more control to
rein the candidates in. Chambas specifically looked to the
Heads of State to ensure that their candidates would avoid
inflammatory rhetoric, violence, and would accept the results
of the election. Chambas said Conte was on board with the
plan, but Wade, while he says he will comply, does not seem
to have adequate control over Yala.


4. (C) On the specific preparations for the election,
Chambas said ECOWAS has a pre-election mission in place to
assess Bissau's readiness to go to the polls and a Special
Representative of the Executive Secretary to coordinate
ECOWAS activities. Obasanjo and Chambas will likely travel
to Bissau again prior to the elections to hold talks with the
candidates to ensure as successful an election as possible.


5. (C) When asked about the highly-visible efforts ECOWAS
was making with election monitoring, Chambas replied that
ECOWAS has changed its approach. Instead of coming in to
observe only when asked by a member state, ECOWAS will now
send observers to every national election held in the
sub-region. Chambas recognized the need for ECOWAS to be a
credible presence during elections, from campaigning through
vote counting, and particularly to be seen as "more than a
rubber stamp" (perhaps a reference to the complaints made by
the opposition in TOGO's elections). A new Election
Monitoring Unit, under the Director for Political Affairs,
will be created at the Secretariat to coordinate these
efforts. While the new unit has not been staffed yet, ECOWAS
received a grant of 400K USD from the Civil Society
Organization of West Africa as seed money, part of which was
spent during the recent mission to TOGO. Chambas said the
challenge for this organization, in addition to finding
adequate donor support, will be to find ways to integrate
ECOWAS into national (civil society) and international
(donor) observation programs.


6. (C) Chambas also said that while ECOWAS has made
significant efforts to reach out to civil society groups,
there has been little effort to coordinate private sector
activities in the sub-region. Recognizing this shortfall,
the Secretariat has recently hired a Senegalese economist to
coordinate a new private sector outreach program. While
Chambas offered few specifics on this, he opened the door for
a continued dialogue on what he sees as an exciting new
aspect to ECOWAS' regional integration program.
CAMPBELL