Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05PORTAUPRINCE1335
2005-05-12 19:32:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Port Au Prince
Cable title:  

PROTESTANT HAS GOOD SHOT AT HAITIAN PRESIDENCY IF

Tags:  PREL PGOV HA 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001335 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA AND USOAS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV HA
SUBJECT: PROTESTANT HAS GOOD SHOT AT HAITIAN PRESIDENCY IF
HE CAN MOBILIZE VOTERS


Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Douglas M. Griffiths for Reason
1.4(d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001335

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA AND USOAS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2015
TAGS: PREL PGOV HA
SUBJECT: PROTESTANT HAS GOOD SHOT AT HAITIAN PRESIDENCY IF
HE CAN MOBILIZE VOTERS


Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., Douglas M. Griffiths for Reason
1.4(d)


1. (SBU) Summary: Pastor Chavannes Jeune of the National
Union of Christians for the Renovation of Haiti (UNCRH)
discussed his pending candidacy for president with the
Ambassador. Jeune said UNCRH would field candidates at all
levels and there was "extraordinary consensus" that the
Protestant community, which had traditionally avoided
participating in politics, was tired of the current situation
and would back a "moral candidate." Jeune believes that if
he can mobilize the Protestant voting population, he would
win November's presidential election. Jeune's fundraising
activities would, if successful, give him a significant
advantage. End Summary.


2. (U) On May 4, Ambassador met with Pastor Chavannes Jeune
of the National Union of Christians for the Renovation of
Haiti (UNCRH) to discuss Jeune's pending candidacy for
president. Jeune explained that Haiti has seen a decrease in
the number of Catholics and an exponential increase of
Protestants over the past decade. Jeune cited a 2002 study
done by the Center of Economic and Social Research for
Training and Development (CRESFED). (Note: This organization
is led by OPL's Executive Secretary Suzy Castor, widow of OPL
founder Gerard Pierre Charles. End Note.) According to the
study, nearly 42 percent of the Haitian population is
Protestant. Jeune quoted a more exact figure of 39.2
percent. (Note: The study was based in Port-au-Prince and
the results may not accurately reflect the current religious
breakdown throughout the country. End Note.)


3. (U) Jeune does have national name recognition,
particularly in the south. He hosted a radio talk show for
several years on the religious-based station Radio Lumiere
which broadcasts throughout Haiti and can be heard in parts
of the Dominican Republic. Jeune claimed that his church has
200,000 members and if one includes the other sects, 1.8
million possible votes (out of a possible 4 million potential
voters.) Jeune believes that if he can mobilize the
Protestant voting population of Haiti, he would win
November's presidential election.

Raising Funds for Elections

--------------


4. (SBU) Jeune had just returned from Canada where he
headlined a $25 per plate fund-raiser that attracted 700
participants. He was to attend a $100 per plate fund-raiser
in Miami on May 6. Jeune said UNCRH would receive matching
funds for every dollar the party raised from Partners
International, an organization of Christian businessman based
in Michigan (www.partnersworldwide.org) To date, Jeune told
the Ambassador, UNCRH had raised $150,000 and with matching
funds had approximately $300,000 to finance the campaign.


5. (SBU) Jeune said UNCRH would field candidates at all
levels, from the city councils to the presidency. He said
the party was founded in November 2004 and is awaiting formal
recognition by the Ministry of Justice that Jeune expects
"within a couple of weeks." His party planned to train
25,000 civic educators to branch out throughout the country
and teach citizens about their civic duty over a 4-month
period. Jeune visited USAID in Washington on the margins of
his attendance at the Inter-American Dialogue's forum on
elections. Jeune said he met with the International
Republican Institute's Chief of Party Walter Turnball (who is
now in Port-au-Prince) in D.C. Jeune said he already had a
team in place discussing a 25-year development plan that has
become the party's platform. Jeune said that if UNCRH wins,
he would be open to forming a coalition government.

Seeking Alliances & Pushing for a Primary
--------------


6. (C) Jeune said that he is pushing other
Christian-affiliated parties to hold some sort of primary
election to determine who would be the Protestant candidate.
He told the Ambassador that Pastor Luc Mesadieu, leader of
the Gonaives-based Christian Movement for a New Haiti
(MOCHRENA) party, had ruled out participating in any sort of
primary. (Note: Mesadieu announced his candidacy for the
presidency at MOCHRENA's April 9 conference. End Note.)
Jeune said this intransigence on the part of Mesadieu had led
11 members of MOCHRENA's governing committee to resign from
their posts.


7. (U) Prior to meeting with the Ambassador, Jeune had
attended a meeting of nearly 300 pastors from throughout
Haiti at Kaliko Beach (located approximately 40 miles from
Port-au-Prince). Jeune said there was "extraordinary
consensus" that the Protestant community had to back a "moral
candidate" if it wanted the country to "become moral" and
find its way out of its current abyss. Jeune said that the
Protestant community had traditionally avoided participating
in politics, but that they were tired of the current
situation and had decided to get involved. Jeune told us
that the church would not formally endorse a candidate but
would find ways, informally, to spread the word. (Note:
Press reports May 9 said Protestant leaders emphasized
separation of the church and politics and that it would not
back any mandate or any particular candidate, but was not
averse to each citizen's freedom to be called to serve the
country. End note.)


8. (C) Asked about a Gerard Jean-Juste candidacy, Jeune
replied that former Prime Minister Cherestal or former
President Preval had a better chance of representing Lavalas,
and believed that Aristide would not bless a Jean-Juste
candidacy. Asked about Aristide's potential to sabotage the
elections, Jeune replied that it depended on the
international community, the Haitian National Police, and the
Haitian population. Jeune said that if either one succumbs to
Aristide's "psychological warfare," the population would not
get out and vote.


9. (SBU) Jeune said UNCRH is pursuing talks with
non-Protestant parties including the Social Democrats, OPL,
and KID. These talks, according to Jeune, are not directed
toward establishing a formal alliance or fusion of parties.
Rather, they are discussing a governability pact. (Note:
This oft-mentioned notion requires the losing party to work
as a loyal opposition to the victor from this year's
elections. The goal is to overcome the Haitian political
tradition of the opposition being exiled and/or undermining
the authority of the elected government in power. End Note.)
Jeune said his first act as president would be to issue a
pardon for all political crimes to enable the country to
achieve national reconciliation and have a fresh start.


10. (C) Comment: Jeune's Protestant electorate, if
mobilized, could carry a candidate to victory, or at least
play a significant role in determining the outcome. The
problem is that the Protestants have traditionally shied away
from politics, and have never been able to forge sufficient
unity among a multiplicity of denominations. 2005 could
indeed be a turning point, however, if Jeune is to be
believed. Failing that, Jeune admitted, he would be "handing
the presidency to Evans Paul" (of KID). End comment.


11. (U) Bio Note: Jeune studied in the United States, and
speaks English well.
GRIFFITHS