SRI LANKA: REQUEST FOR ELECTION SUPPORT

UNCLAS COLOMBO 001514

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR DRL AND SA/INS
DEPARTMENT PLEASE ALSO PASS USAID - ANE/SA FOR ERIC PICARD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM EAID PGOV CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: REQUEST FOR ELECTION SUPPORT

REF: A. COLOMBO 1503


B. COLOMBO 1446


1. This is an action request. Please see Para 4.


2. SUMMARY: Post requests funding in the amount of USD
400,000 to support local NGO efforts to monitor and observe
upcoming presidential and/or general elections. Because of
initial uncertainty surrounding the length of incumbent
President Chandrika Kumaratunga's second term--and thus the
date for presidential elections--local election monitoring
organizations may lack sufficient funds to cover these polls,
which the Supreme Court has just decided must take place by
November 22 (Ref A). In addition, the prospect of a snap
general election (either right before or right after the
presidential poll) is looming large, and regularly scheduled
local elections are planned for February 2006. While recent
innovations have modestly improved prospects for a free and
fair election, Sri Lanka's history of election violence,
voter intimidation and ballot tampering makes monitoring by
local organizations with a proven track record essential to
continuing this hopeful trend. END SUMMARY.

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NO HANGING CHADS, YET
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3. The Supreme Court decision on August 26 that presidential
elections must be held by November 22 (Ref A) ended a year of
uncertainty about the polling date but left just about
everyone--from the politicians themselves to the government
to civil society--scrambling to get organized on short
notice. Complicating this scenario is the all-too likely
possibility that the President may dissolve
Parliament--either right before or right after the
elections--thereby necessitating snap general elections as
well. Finally, regularly scheduled local elections in
February 2006 make a grand total of three likely island-wide
elections within four months. The 2004 general elections saw
some decline in polls-related violence, thanks in part,
according to the Election Commissioner, to such improvements
as the creation of an independent Police Commission to shield
police from politically motivated retribution. Nonetheless,
conditions surrounding the upcoming election, a fiercely
contested, high-stakes race that observers already are
predicting may be too close to call, could foster the
violence, mayhem, intimidation and vote-tampering all too
characteristic of past elections.


4. In the past, the Center for Monitoring Election Violence
(CMEV) and the People's Action for Free and Fair Elections
(PAFFREL),indigenous election monitoring organizations with
a reputation for integrity, have proved very useful in
promoting free and fair elections in Sri Lanka. The USAID
Mission in Sri Lanka, which funded both organizations through
the National Democratic Institute (NDI) during the 2004
parliamentary elections, has no such funds available this
year. Both CMEV and PAFFREL have provided detailed budgets
for election monitoring, which include plans to train and
support thousands of domestic monitors, in addition to
fielding 50 international observers each for the upcoming
presidential polls. To date, PAFFREL has raised USD 50,000
from international donors and is confident it can raise an
additional USD 100,000 from others. Because of the short
lead time before presidential elections, however, both
organizations may face difficulty in raising sufficient
funding by November.

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ACTION REQUEST
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5. Embassy requests Department fund election monitoring
efforts to be conducted by CMEV and PAFFREL in the total
amount of USD 400,000 for the following key components:

--Printed material such as caps, arm bands, identification
badges, monitoring forms - USD 64,070;
--Training for poll monitors - USD 104,800;
--Travel costs and training for 24 international observers -
USD 46,000;
--Election day monitoring costs for 200 temporary district
and divisional offices and operating costs for 250 mobile
monitoring units - USD 185,130
ENTWISTLE