THE GAMBIA: DAS THOMAS-GREENFIELD DISCUSSES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANJUL 000423 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/06/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL AU GA SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: DAS THOMAS-GREENFIELD DISCUSSES ELECTION ISSUES BANJUL 00000423 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: P/E OFF SCHWEFLER, REASON 1.4 (B&D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY. On the first day of her visit to The Gambia to attend the African Union (AU) Summit, Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield had the SIPDIS opportunity to meet with several opposition leaders and a former election official to discuss prospects for the upcoming Presidential and National Assembly elections. The opposition leaders provided detailed complaints about what they perceive as flagrant and large-scale ruling party and government tampering with the ongoing voter registration exercise. There was less agreement among the attendees on a second topic addressed, causes for the collapse of the opposition's alliance. Embassy will continue to press the GOTG to ensure a free and fair election process. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) On 30 June, DAS Thomas-Greenfield held a series of meetings with several Gambian opposition politicians as well as Anglican Bishop and former Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Chairman Tilewa Johnson. In separate meetings, she discussed prospects for the upcoming National Assembly and Presidential elections with opposition National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD) Presidential Candidate Halifa Sallah and members of the NADD Executive Committee; and, opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) Presidential Candidate Ousainou Darboe and his running mate from the National Reconciliation Party (NRP),Hamat Bah. -------------- VOTER REGISTRATION PROBLEMS -------------- ¶3. (C) The Gambia is holding two major elections in the next six months, the Presidential election scheduled for September 22, and the National Assembly elections scheduled for January ¶2007. The supplemental voter registration is in progress, and in most of her meetings DAS heard similar detailed descriptions of flagrant abuses in the registration process, including election officials, registration of non-Gambians and minors in connivance with the ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Constructions (APRC). In The Gambia it is possible to receive a National Identity Card, which allows one to register to vote, by presenting to the Immigration Department a birth certificate or a written attestation of citizenship by a Chief or five village elders. In their meetings with DAS Thomas-Greenfield, the opposition leaders described scenes where five elders sit at a table issuing attestations for groups of foreigners organized by APRC officials. These attestations are submitted for Identification Cards, which, in turn can be presented to the IEC for a voter registration card. ¶4. (C) When asked if they had voiced their concerns to the IEC, Darboe and Sallah responded in the affirmative, but expressed little faith that IEC Chairman Njie would take corrective measures to address or prevent the problem. Sallah reported that he has direct access to the Chair, and gave his opinion that the abuses have become so flagrant that they can no longer be ignored. He reported that the IEC staff has become demoralized, as they know they are involved in "filthy work." NOTE: Registration abuses have received attention in the two operating independent newspapers, The Point and Foroyaa. Embassy contacts have also reported many instances of non-Gambians and minors as young as ten being encouraged to register for National Identity Cards and, subsequently, voter cards. When asked about the allegations at an Embassy reception, the Director General of Immigration dismissed them as "nonsense." END NOTE. ¶5. (C) In his meeting with the DAS, Bishop Johnson expressed his opinion that The Gambia has a strong legal foundation for running clean elections. He was very proud of the Gambia's simple but secure voting method of placing a marble in a colored drum, and also explained that the IEC is empowered to investigate and deny registrants who appear fraudulent, which he says happened frequently under his tenure. The opposition candidates shared his opinion that there are sufficient anti-fraud procedures in place, but that they are being ignored. They explained that the current Chair, in conflict with the election &code of conduct8 MOU signed in February 2006 by the ruling and opposition parties, is not using a supplemental registration form that was used in the past to help verify a voter's eligibility. The opposition leaders report that the IEC Chair has been calling monthly inter-party meetings to address issues of concern, but that the APRC has not attended the last two meetings. All of the opposition leaders expressed their intention to participate in the election, and in the case of Darboe and Bah, their conviction that they will win if provided a level playing field. However, but they all voiced their doubts that the upcoming elections will be free and fair unless the current BANJUL 00000423 002.2 OF 002 trend is reversed. -------------- A FRAGMENTED OPPOSITION -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The Gambia has several opposition parties and, facing changes to the Constitution that allowed elections to be won by a simple majority, the major ones agreed in the later half of 2005 to form a new alliance party, NADD. Although at first it seemed possible that this new party would pose a strong, united opposition to face the APRC in the Presidential election, there were constant internal struggles and controversies over the nature of the alliance and the selection of a flag-bearer. By February the two major parties (UDP and NRP) had withdrawn from NADD, leaving the alliance a shadow of its former self. Almost two months before the election, there are three major parties contending for the Presidency: APRC (President Jammeh),NADD (Sallah) and an allied UDP/NRP (Darboe). ¶7. (C) DAS Thomas-Greenfield asked the opposition leaders in separate meetings for their assessment as to why NADD fragmented, and about the likelihood of victory without a single, consensus opposition candidate. It was difficult to get a clear answer from any of the candidates, but Darboe and Bah gave the most frank response. Coming from The Gambia's two largest opposition parties, they found it was a mistake to ally in a five-party power sharing arrangement under NADD that treated every party equally. Both men further stated that the decision to establish NADD was made in accordance with the wishes of their constituencies and with an eye to the upcoming National Assembly elections. Now they report making a strong effort to convince Halifa Sallah and NADD to get behind Darboe as a candidate for the presidential election. Sallah avoided discussing the prospects for such a development, but the demeanor of all of the men indicated an acute awareness that unless the opposition rallies around one candidate prospects for a victory in September are slim. ¶8. (SBU) In the area of election support, opposition leaders expressed a desire for the U.S. to encourage the government to follow the norms established in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the parties in February. Nigerian President Obasanjo brokered this MOU during a visit to The Gambia, and it was suggested by the opposition leaders as well as Bishop Johnson that the USG encourage the Nigerian government to stay involved in keeping the election process on track and in accordance with the MOU. ¶9. (C) COMMENT: The opposition leaders demonstrated a real appreciation for the concern and interest that the USG is demonstrating towards the upcoming elections, and were honored by the opportunity to meet with a senior USG official during her visit to The Gambia. Though funding was not forthcoming for Embassy,s proposed ESF election support program this year, post plans to use its limited DHRF funds to provide a $25k grant to a regional NGO, West Africa Network for Peace (WANEP),for training and mobilization of civil society election observers. Furthermore, a team from the National Democratic Institute (NDI) is planning to implement a short program to train election observers from the parties. Allegations of registration fraud are widespread, but any substantive response or reaction on the part of the government was not expected while it was preoccupied with hosting the AU Summit. With the Summit in the past, post will urge the GOTG to ensure that the electoral registration abuses reported by the opposition are halted and that the opposition is allowed to campaign freely for votes in the upcoming contests.. END COMMENT. ¶10. (U) This cable was cleared by DAS Thomas-Greenfield. STAFFORD