EIGHT WEEKS OUT: CCER ISSUING DECREES LEFT AND RIGHT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 001723

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM TI
SUBJECT: EIGHT WEEKS OUT: CCER ISSUING DECREES LEFT AND RIGHT

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1. Tajikistan's Central Committee on Elections and Referenda
(CCER) signed a new decree September 15 addressing candidates'
usage of mass media during the presidential campaign,
establishing polling stations and forming a working group to
deal with international observers. The decrees are a small step
forward, but media time is still limited and the CCER did not
fully engage political parties in the process. CCER members
signed the decree in the presence of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, Parliament members, Ministry of Justice, presidential
advisors, media and the international community. Although the
meeting is supposedly open to all, political parties were not
invited to the table.


2. The decree signed on September 15 grants each candidate a
total of 30 minutes of TV and radio airtime and 10 minutes for
each candidate's proxies. A candidate may have up to 15
proxies. Candidates are allowed to submit articles for
publication in state and independent press. When submitting
articles to newspapers, the candidate's article should not
exceed ten double-spaced typed pages. If a candidate wishes to
obtain more airtime or press space, he must fund it himself.
During the meeting, a state television representative piped up
and protested that the amount of free airtime is too much.
Boltoyev, Chairman of the CCER, assuaged him by saying that the
amount of time is not excessive and pointed out that in other
countries, candidates are on the air 24/7. Campaign posters for
all candidates will be in A3 format, the text will be in size 16
font and the candidate's photo should be no bigger than 9 x 14.


3. The decree named an 11-person committee to work with and
organize international observers for the election. It also
listed 26 voting stations to be set up abroad. Several polling
station sites will be established in Russia to accommodate the
numerous labor migrants. Other countries include Afghanistan,
former Soviet Union countries and South Asian neighbors. Two
stations will be set up in Washington, DC and New York. In a
meeting with PolOff, Deputy Head of the CCER, Muhibulloh
Dodojonov agreed to allow observers in the polling stations
abroad as well. The election protocols will be posted at
polling stations and distributed to international observers,
political parties and other such groups.


DECREES 42 and 43


4. The CCER issued decrees number 42 and 43 signed September 4,
but the international community did not receive a copy until the
week of September 11 and the majority of political parties did
not receive the decree at all. EmbOffs distributed copies of
the signed decrees to political parties. Decree 42 sets out the
rights and responsibilities of international and domestic
observers. Decree 43 stipulates guidelines for political
parties to register representatives to the district and
provincial election committees. Each party must submit the name
of its one representative to each local election committee for
CCER approval 45 days prior to the election.


5. When international missions received Decree 42 and 43,
UNTOP, OSCE, IFES and PolOff lobbied the CCER to implement
changes. For example, in the original draft of Decree 42,
international observers were not allowed to be present in voting
booths while voters marked their ballots. This rule was not
restricted to the political party representatives, which meant
that if a party representative tried to influence a voter in the
booth, he would, technically, be allowed. Also Decree 43 did
not explicitly allow parties that did not nominate candidates to
the election to field observers.


6. In PolOff's meeting with Dodojonov September 12 he agreed to
modify the Decrees based on the concerns the international

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community raised. The CCER then edited the Decrees and
re-signed them incorporating concerns raised including bringing
into congruence rules for international and local political
observers and permitting all political parties to field
observers. Dodojonov acknowledged that Tajikistan still has a
long way to go in order to fully meet international standards.
Dodojonov made a plea for international financial assistance to
fund publications of election manuals so that international
observers and local commission members know all the rules. He
also commented that the CCER is cash-strapped. Because the CCER
does not have money for salaried employees, local governments
handpick district and provincial elections commission members.
According to Dodojonov, because of this, the commissions are
often biased. If the CCER could employ and train its own
employees, the commissions would be more independent. He
welcomes short-term OSCE observers and international assistance
in reforming elections procedures in Tajikistan.


MORE CHANGES TO COME


7. An IFES international consultant will be working with the
CCER on developing an elections manual, which will delineate
precise voting regulations and instructions. This manual will
clarify remaining ambiguities. The CCER has agreed to turn the
manual into an official decree, giving its contents the status
of law.


8. The OSCE is expected to send a full-scale observation
mission with 100 short-term observers. However, this decision
can be rescinded if the OSCE deems that no legitimate opposition
candidates run in the election or if candidates do not have fair
and adequate access to the media.


COMMENT:


9. The amount of free media time and space stipulated in the
latest decree for candidates is limited. By virtue of being
president, Rahmonov has practically unlimited exposure in the
media. He is the wealthiest of any prospective candidate and can
buy all the press time he wants.


10. Another point of concern is the lack of engagement with all
political parties. Although the CCER has been open and
cooperative with the international community, they have not made
a strong effort to reach out to political parties, evident by
the fact that political parties were not informed about the
decrees and did not participate in the last CCER meeting.


11. The changes that Dodojonov and the CCER were willing to
make to the decrees show they are genuinely concerned about how
Tajikistan is perceived by the international community. But the
shortcomings in the original draft of Decrees 42 and 43 show
that the CCER still needs a lot of hand-holding. Working with
IFES's consultant Ian Smith to edit necessary changes into the
election manual so it can be issued as a decree is critical to
laying the legal foundation for the election process. This also
paves the way for future elections and opens the door for
further reform.

END COMMENT.
JACOBSON