ECOWAS ON NIGERIA'S 2007 ELECTIONS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 002973 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/13/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM NI ELECTIONS SUBJECT: ECOWAS ON NIGERIA'S 2007 ELECTIONS Classified By: Ambassador John Campbell for Reasons 1.4 (b and d) ¶1. (C) Summary: Ambassador met with ECOWAS Executive Secretary Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas on November 13 to discuss SIPDIS Nigeria's 2007 elections. Dr. Chambas said that ECOWAS plans to observe the elections next year and that a pre-election assesment team, led by former President Soglo of Benin, would visit Nigeria by December 2006. Chambas indicated that a similar team is being dispatched to Senegal in November or December. End Summary. ¶2. (C) The Ambassador expressed concerns about the pace of elections preparation in Nigeria. He noted that the ongoing registration exercise has been slow and plagued by technical problems, including a severe shortage of electronic registration machines. Dr. Chambas said flatly that "Nigerians expect an election in April and a new President on May 29, 2007," as do most Africans in general. He indicated that ECOWAS will organize a team to observe the 2007 elections in Nigeria, as they do in all member states. ECOWAS is also organizing a team to do a pre-election assesment of Nigeria's preparations for 2007. Dr. Chambas said that the four-member team would be lead by former President Soglo of Benin and would include Ghana's current Electoral Commissioner, Ghana's former Chief of Defense Staff General Bing, and a francophone participant yet to be indentified. ECOWAS hopes that the assesment team will visit Nigeria in November, though December may be more likely. Dr. Chambas also noted that ECOWAS has heard some concerns regarding upcoming elections in Senegal and that a pre-election assesment team is also being dispatched to Dakar soon. ¶3. (C) Ambassador told Dr. Chambas that he was delighted to hear about the ECOWAS assesment team. He said that friends of Nigeria, like the US and ECOWAS, need to continue giving public, visible signs that the 2007 elections are essential and we expect them to take place. Dr. Chambas responded that "if Benin can hold successful elections, then surely big brother Nigeria can do so as well." CAMPBELL