HAITI ELECTIONS: SOME PROGRESS, MILES TO GO

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 002608 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR DRL S/CRS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM HA SUBJECT: HAITI ELECTIONS: SOME PROGRESS, MILES TO GO REF: A. PORT-AU-PRINCE 2570 ¶B. PORT-AU-PRINCE 2569 ¶1. Summary: S/CRS Pascual and WHA/CAR Duddy's visit to Haiti on October 12-13 focused on the need for immediate action to advance elections and maintain the February 7 political transition. The group met with UNPOL, political party leaders, the Prime Minister, the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP),the Support Committee (SC) to the CEP, and SRSG Valdes. Though whip cracking by the SC and international community has produced some results since October 10, it was clear that the inability of the CEP, SC and IGOH to take key actions continues to hamper progress towards elections. MINUSTAH leaders explained that CEP inaction on key issues has slowed some aspects of elections preparations and brought others to a standstill. The PM, SC and CEP reaffirmed their commitment to the process, but the delegation insisted that all three bodies must produce concrete results to maintain international favor by the October 18 Core Group meeting at UN headquarters. End Summary. ¶2. In the last week, significant urging from the international community and new Support Committee (SC) has led to some elections progress, but most of the famed ten tasks presented at the September New York Core Group by SRSG Valdes remain incomplete. MINUSTAH elections officials maintained that CEP inaction has slowed elections progress in some ways and stopped it altogether in others. For example, the CEP,s failure to identify voting centers or allow MINUSTAH to select the sites, as they were supposed to do by September 30, has created a bottleneck. As a direct result of the CEP,s inaction, the OAS cannot distribute ID cards (REF A),the HNP and MINUSTAH cannot finalize their security plans for Election Day, and MINUSTAH cannot finalize its logistical plans. ¶3. SC member and Minister of Culture and Communication Magalie Comeau-Denis admitted that the SC,s evaluation of elections had slowed progress in the last week, but said that the process would ultimately move forward more quickly as a result of the SC's efforts. The SC and Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) were quick to point out that they had established new internal bylaws to govern the CEP and made significant progress towards choosing a director general, who the SC said it hoped would be in place by October 14. The PM promised the visiting party he would ensure that a DG of the CEP would be installed and tasked with setting firm electoral dates before the PM left the country October 15 (REF B). (Note: The acting Prime Minister installed Jacques Bernard as DG on Saturday, October 15. Bernard declined to go to the October 21 Brussels conference arguing that the priority is to get to work here. End Note.) In addition, the PM said some electoral decrees would be forthcoming such as the decree removing the Supreme Court from the appeals process, which will facilitate a faster electoral cycle, and the decree on public financing for political parties. ¶4. The CEP, SC and PM reaffirmed their commitment to elections before February 7. However, Ambassador Pascual, Mr. Duddy, and the Charge pushed the members of the SC to produce concrete results in advance of the Core Group at UN headquarters October 18 and the Brussels donors, conference October 21. They urged the IGOH, CEP, and SC to begin with February 7 and work backwards to complete a workplan ending in the transfer power on February 7. They underlined that the only way to maintain the donor community's long-term commitment to Haiti would be to reassure donors of the viability of the transition through results. ¶5. Ambassador Pascual and Mr. Duddy did not have the opportunity to clear this before dispatch. CARNEY