HASINA REPORTEDLY ORDERS TROOPS TO PREPARE FOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 006780 SIPDIS SIPDIS REL GBR CAN AUS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/13/2016 TAGS: KDEM PGOV BG SUBJECT: HASINA REPORTEDLY ORDERS TROOPS TO PREPARE FOR ELECTION Classified By: P/E Counselor D.C. McCullough, reason para 1.4 d. ¶1. (C) At 1430 local December 13, Awami League Organizing Secretary Mukhul Bose called us to report that he had just SIPDIS left a meeting where party president Sheikh Hasina had instructed mid-level officials to prepare for elections. She reportedly stated she would continue to voice various demands, including changes in the election schedule, but the party should anticipate elections before the 90-day election clock effectively runs out on January 25. ¶2. (C) Comment: Although by no means definitive, this is good news. It is the best evidence to date the Awami League will not boycott the election, and it tracks with several positive Awami League actions in the past two weeks: A) After previously rejecting the voter list as hopelessly flawed with 14 million "ghost" voters and demanding a new nationwide enumeration, party officials at the national and local levels last week began cooperating with Election Commission workers to correct the voter list. Significantly, the Awami League's new emphasis is to ensure that its supporters are registered, not removing the millions of ghost voters that are largely attributable to migration and other benign factors. B) The Awami League dropped blockades even as a threat, reverting instead to small, peaceful sit-ins and rallies. C) The Awami League's reaction to the nationwide deployment of the military was measured, reasonably calling on the army to act in a neutral and lawful manner. D) Hasina and her household relatives registered to vote. E) Hasina stated that her party could be ready for elections in a matter of hours. This suggests she has already lined up the Awami League nominees for parliament and will bypass a laborious committee process (which has not begun) technically charged with this responsibility. F) Hasina rejected calls from party hard-liners to launch a formal one-point program to oust Ahmed as Chief Adviser. BUTENIS