LIFTING TERM LIMITS: CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL

UNCLAS NDJAMENA 001133 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF, AF/C, INR, DRL, LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICAWATCHERS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM CD SUBJECT: LIFTING TERM LIMITS: CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL CONFIRMS UNLIMITED PRESIDENTIAL MANDATES REF: A. NDJAMENA 902 ¶B. NDJAMENA 932 ¶C. NDJAMENA 986 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On July 7, Chad's Constitutional Council nullified the public referendum results of over 3,007 voting precincts, but confirmed the overall vote in favor of removing presidential term limits. The rejection of the votes in one-third of the districts and the overseas votes puts the final participation rate at 57.8 percent with 65 percent voting in favor of amending the Constitution. In announcing its decision to cancel one quarter of the votes, the Constitutional Council cited a number of irregularities, but still affirmed the "yes" vote in favor of the revisions. The opposition continues to question the credibility of the referendum given these irregularities and number of votes disqualified. The next step is for President Deby to promulgate by decree the Constitutional amendments. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Chad's Constitutional Council announced the final, official results of the public referendum held on June 6. David Houdeingar, the Council's President, stated that the voter turn-out was 57.8 percent with 65 percent voting in favor of amending the Constitution to remove presidential term limits. On June 21, the National Independent Electoral Commission CENI's provisional results were released putting the voter turn-out as 71 percent and 77.8 percent of the voters voted in favor of the referendum. ¶3. (U) In response to complaints filed by the public, the Constitutional Council nullified votes in 3,007 districts after a variety of irregularities were reported. These include: non-respect for the prescribed voting hours, discrepancies between the votes cast and counted, discrepancies between the number of registered voters and votes cast, the lack of a final tally sheet in some areas, lack of required signatures, and excessive votes by nomadic herders. In addition, the Constitutional Council canceled out all of the votes cast overseas because the voter register was not publicly displayed thirty days in advance of the election. ¶4. (SBU) Many opposition members believe that the Constitutional Council recognized some of the technical problems with the referendum and the likely inflation of the provisional results. However, they claim that, because the Council threw out the results of one-third of the polling stations, the results of the entire exercise should be canceled as well. The rejected votes amounted to one-fourth of the votes cast. The opposition parties remain fragmented and somewhat resigned to the fact that presidential term limits have been removed. In meetings with opposition leaders, it is clear that they are unsure of their next steps. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: As expected, the Constitutional Court, stacked with presidential loyalists, reaffirmed the vote in favor of the changes to the Constitution. However, it is the first governmental body that acknowledged the extent of the irregularities. There is still another "technical step" to come: the promulgation of the Constitutional revisions by President Deby through a decree. WALL NNNN