REGIONAL ELECTIONS ANNOUNCED

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 001158

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF AND AF/E;
LONDON, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER;

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINS KDEM DJ
SUBJECT: REGIONAL ELECTIONS ANNOUNCED


1. (U) SUMMARY: On December 30th, 2005,
elections will be held in Djibouti for the
first time to choose regional governing
councils for the five districts of Arta, Ali
Sabieh, Dikhil, Obock, Tadjourah and the
three community councils of Djibouti City.
The election date was postponed for more
than two years despite promises from the
President. All clues seem to indicate that
this one will be the final date. On November
12th, the Minister of Interior issued a
press statement in which he indicated the
number of registered voters for this
election, and modalities as well as
conditions in order for candidates to
compete. For the first time in Djibouti,
independent and civil society candidates are
allowed to run for an elected office. As
with the presidential elections, the
opposition has decided to boycott the
upcoming regional elections, once again
demanding electoral reform. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) The government proclaimed December
30, 2005 to be Election Day in the five
regions of the country as well as Djibouti
City. The number of registered voters
determines the number of seats in regional
and community councils. One seat is given
for every 1,000 registered voters in a
region or community. The regional governing
council in Dikhil will have 30 seats,
Tadjourah will have 22 seats, Ali Sabieh
will have 20 seats, Obock will have 16
seats, and Arta will have 9 seats. For the
purposes of decentralization, a special
status was created for the City of Djibouti
to dictate how the city would be governed.
The special status divides the City of
Djibouti into three communities - Ras Dika,
Boulaos, and Hayabley - each with its own
Community Governing Council. The same
proportion will be used to determine the
number of seats per governing council: 1
seat per 1,000 registered voters in the
community. The Community Council for Ras
Dika will have 4 seats, Boulaos will have 71
seats, and Hayabley will have 29 seats.


3. (U) Once elected, the three Community
Councils (CC) will choose 35 representatives
among themselves to form the Council of
Djibouti City (CDC). The CDC will then elect
the Mayor of Djibouti City from within its
membership. Community councils are
responsible for managing social, cultural
and sports facilities within the community.
CC also manages public markets, works and
communal spaces. The local CC is consulted
in all matters related to taxes, voting, and
investment choices. The CDC is responsible
for all programs and development projects
concerning Djibouti-City. Environmental
protection, acceptance or refusal of
legacies and donations, local taxes
collection are among the major
responsibilities of the CDC.


4. (U) In order to be a candidate in the
regional and community elections, a person
must be 23 years of age or older on the day
of the election and be a Djiboutian citizen.
Candidacy is open to political parties and
independent persons from civil society. Each
party or civil society organization can
submit a list of candidates to fill the
number of seats in the regional or community
council to which they wish to be elected.
Each candidate or list must pay a 250,000 DF
deposit to the National Treasury, which will
be returned if they receive more than five
percent of the vote. The candidate or party
that receives 25 percent or more of the vote
will get 50 percent of the seats for that
council. If multiple parties or candidates
receive 25 percent or more of the vote, then
a second round of voting will take place.
The remaining 50 percent of the seats will
be proportionally distributed to the other
candidates that received higher than 5
percent of the vote.


5. (U) Due to their positions, some civil
servants are not eligible to compete for
regional elections. This includes
accountants of public funds, district
commissars, Constitutional Council members
and judges, security forces and army
personnel, state inspectors, civil servants
working in the department of
Decentralization within the Ministry of
Interior, ministers and members of
parliament, and Secretary Generals and
directors of public-owned companies.
Registration for candidates will close
November 26, 2005. The Minister of Interior
has left open the option of a second round
of voting for January 20, 2006, should any
seat have been contested. On numeric level,
registered voters in the whole republic
total 204,607. There will be 204 seats
contested. There will be 293 (two hundred
ninety three) polling stations.


6. (U) Some critics are already appearing
within civil society organizations and
national observers regarding the perceived
lack of preparation from the government.
Questions such as "How will the regional,
community and city councils be paid?" have
yet to be answered. Others complain about
the disproportion between the different
electoral communities in terms of
inhabitants and number of seats. For
example, the Community of Ras-Dika has only
four seats to represent 3,906 registered
voters, while the Community of Boulaos has
71 seats to represent 71,406 registered
voters. Also, power sharing between the
central government and the local governing
bodies has not yet been well defined. The
decentralization law of 2002 and the special
status of the capital do not clearly divide
areas of responsibility between the two
entities.


7. (U) Some government officials are aware
of the malfunctions and errors cited in the
different laws but they attribute this to
the election being the first experience in
decentralization. On the other hand, the
several promises made so far by President
Guelleh would not allow a third postponement
of the elections. International donors
present in Djibouti have expressed their
frustration when decentralization is
mentioned in a discussion. Although the lack
of resources is obvious and despite the
several reminders from donors that the
Government express its needs well ahead of
the due date, the government persists on
presenting its demands in a very short
notice. This attitude has jeopardized a
number of projects in the past, particularly
with the EU regarding 600,000 Euros devoted
for pre-election operations that ended up
being returned to the EU because the
Djiboutian government didn't ask for
assistance in timely manner. Post has
learned that the 2006 state budget has
allocated 1 Billion Djibouti Francs (USD 5.6
Million) for decentralization. The uses of
this budget will be discussed in the
Parliament when the Budgetary Session opens
on November 30, 2005.


RAGSDALE