DETAILS ON THE PROCESS OF THE ELECTRONIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L MANAGUA 002277

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/05/2026
TAGS: KDEM NU PGOV PINR
SUBJECT: DETAILS ON THE PROCESS OF THE ELECTRONIC
TRANSMISSION OF VOTE RESULTS


1. (C) SUMMARY: POL TDYer recently met with officials from
the local phone company (Enitel) and the Supreme Electoral
Council (CSE) to seek clarification on the process whereby
the vote tallies will be electronically submitted to the CSE
on election day. Each of Nicaragua's 158 municiaplities will
host a Municipal Counting Center (CCM) staffed by Enitel
technicians who will electronically scan the official tally
sheets and send the results to a central CSE processing
center in Managua. Enitel is closely collaborating with the
CSE and will mobilize over 80% of its workforce to ensure a
smooth process. In addition to allowing many of its branch
offices to serve as CCMs, Enitel will also field teams of
technicians across the country who can be called in to help
solve any technical problems that might arise. Both Enitel
and the CSE are confident that sufficient checks and balances
within the system will minimize the chances of manipulation
of the vote during this component of the process. END
SUMMARY.


2. (C) POL TDYer met with a member of the Supreme Electoral
Council (CSE) and executives with the local telephone
company, Enitel, to better understand the process by which
the final election tallies from each voting table (JRV) will
be electronically transmitted to the CSE on election day.
This critical component of the electoral process has not
received much attention in the press, although local
editorialists and other pundits appear skeptical on the
transparency of the process. A few contacts have warned
Emboffs that this process is vulnerable to disruption either
intentionally (i.e. via sabotage or partisan manipulation) or
accidentally (i.e. power outages). To shed some light on
these issues POL TDYer met with Enitel's Chief Country
Executive David Ibarra (on 2 October),Enitel Director of
Operations Luis Perey (3 October),and with CSE Chief of
Staff Rodrigo Barreto (4 October).


A WORD ON GENERAL CSE PREPARATIONS
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3. (SBU) Barreto provided an overview of the CSE's
preparations for transporting electoral materials and
personnel on election day. He confirmed that there will be a
total of 11,274 voting tables (JRVs) in 4,296 voting centers
around the country. Barreto reported that the number of JRVs
is high because the CSE has worked to ensure that no
Nicaraguan will have to travel more than 5 kilometers from
home to cast their vote. He noted that this coverage has
been difficult and expensive to manage, but that the CSE has
been largely successful in coordinating, in conjunction with
the military, a wide transportation network to support the
process. According to a statistical chart provided by
Barreto, the huge vehicle fleet includes 665 large trucks,
785 light trucks, 645 buses, and 112 mini-buses. To ensure
that materials can be adequately delivered to hard-to-reach
locales, the CSE reported that it will employ 33 helicopters,
107 canoes, and 1,991 beasts of burden (i.e. mules).
(COMMENT: It is unclear how the CSE will employ 33
helicopters when, according to to DAO and RSO, respectively,
the Nicaraguan military has approximately 24 helicopters of
which only 40-50% are operational and the police have no
helicopters. END COMMENT.) The CSE will begin packaging
election materials between 16 and 22 October, and distributed
using the various transportation means between 27 and 30
October. While the results from each JRV will be
electronically sent to the CSE, the vehicles will also be
responsible for transporting the hardcopy ballots and
associated paperwork back to the CSE.


PREPARING RESULTS FOR ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
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4. (SBU) Upon the completion of the voting process, each JRV
will begin counting the results. A step-by-step guide (Paso
a Paso) of JRV procedures published by the CSE establishes
clear guidelines for how the final tallies are registered and
transmitted to the central CSE processing center in Managua.
According to the guide, once all the ballots have been
counted by the JRV, the valid, annulled, and unused ballots
are packaged separately, sealed, and labeled. These are then
placed in a bag marked "electoral packet," which is in turn
sealed. On the outside of the bag is affixed a copy of the
official tally sheet (or acta). Once the ballots have been
sealed, the JRV president is responsible for personally
delivering the official acta to the Municipal Computing
Center (CCM) where it will be scanned and electronically
transmitted to the CSE. While Post was originally told by an
OAS contact that only the ballots for the presidential

election were to undergo this process, Barreto and Perey
reported that all the final tallies from each of the four
races (president, national-level National Assembly
candidates, regional Assembly candidates, and members of the
Central American Parliament) will be submitted this way.


5. (SBU) Barreto explained that the JRV President will be
accompanied to the CCM by the other members of the JRV and
the fiscales. Barreto and the Enitel officials commented
wryly that this is often a humorous sight as all of these
officials - seven or eight of them - typically insist on
riding in the same vehicle. Once at the CCM, however, only
the JRV President will be allowed inside. He will then turn
the acta over to an Enitel technician who will then, in the
presence of the JRV President, scan the document and transmit
it to the CSE. Ibarra and Perey noted that admittance to the
office (which in most cases will be one of Enitel's regional
offices) is restricted to the JRV leader in order to ensure
that order is maintained.


6. (C) POL TDYer queried both Barreto and Perey whether it
would be possible for the JRV president to swap out the
official acta for a manipulated one while temporarily out of
sight from the rest of the JRV. Both officials thought this
unlikely and Barreto explained that there is a control in
place to prevent this from happening. He noted that after
sending the acta over the wire, the technician will print and
give to the JRV President a confirmation copy of the document
that was sent. The other JRV members and fiscales will be
able to demand to see this once the JRV president leaves the
CCM. These officials will be able to check to make sure the
numbers and signatures match up to the original sheet.


MUNICIPAL COMPUTING CENTERS
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7. (SBU) Each of the country's 158 municipalities will have
a CCM. Most are located in the local Enitel office, with the
exception of some 60 municipalities where Enitel has no
presence. In these locations, the transmission hardware
(i.e. computers, scanners, or faxes) will be installed in one
of the local voting centers. Enitel technicians will be on
hand at all 158 centers and will be responsible for scanning
and submitting the results. Ibarra and Perey assured POL
TDYer that their personnel will be equipped to deal with any
equipment problems that may arise. In addition, those CCMs
located in Enitel offices will have independent sources of
electricity (i.e. generators) that will enable them to send
the information in the event of a power outage. Perey noted
that the phone connection at all of the CCMs has already been
tested three times to ensure they are functioning, and that
the sites will be retested a couple days before the election.


8. (SBU) Most of the actas will be scanned and then sent via
encrypted channels to the CSE where they will be un-encoded
and processed. Perey noted, however, that a few of the CCMs
will use a fax instead because logistical challenges
associated with operating the more complicated scanning
hardware in some areas. Perey enthusiastically claimed that
use of the scanners in the majority of the locations will
improve the overall electoral process. He noted that in
previous elections the primary means of transmission was via
fax, which can occasionally be problematic because some
documents inevitably arrive with smudges or formatting
irregularities. A scanned document on the other hand,
provides a clean and clear image - which will prove useful by
those scrutinizing the process (i.e. checking signatures and
reading handwritten numbers).


THE ACTA
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9. (U) Barreto gave POL TDYer a copy of the actas that will
be scanned and transmitted on election day. It is a
single-sided sheet on paper slightly larger than a legal pad.
There are four separate tables for each of the four races on
the page. Each of these charts allot spaces to record the
number of votes received by the political parties. There is
also a specified area to register how many votes from each
party were annulled or challenged. At the bottom of the page
are spaces for the three JRV members and five fiscales (one
from each party) to print their names, identification
(cedula) numbers, and signatures. By signing the document
these members signify their agreement with the results.


ENITEL MOBILIZING PERSONNEL, MATERIALS TO SUPPORT ELECTION

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10. (SBU) Perey noted that Enitel is mobilizing 600
employees around the country to help with the elections -
some 80% of the total Enitel workforce. In addition, the
company will have mobile technical teams around the country
that will be able to handle technical or mechanical problems
beyond the means of the CCM Enitel technicians. These teams
can provide backup generators or shore up missing telephone
wires. In the event that telephone wires are missing (i.e.
stolen) or damaged, these teams will be able to install new
wire, or create a temporary patch that would enable the
connection to be made. Ibarra said these teams should be
able to respond to calls in a matter of hours.


11. (SBU) Some contacts have speculated to Emboffs that the
election could be disrupted by the theft of telephone wires,
but it appears that Enitel and the CSE are aware of this
problem and taking steps to head it off. Ibarra acknowledged
that cable theft has spiked in the last few months because
international copper prices have increased by over 300% --
thieves are cutting down telephone wires and removing the
copper elements for sale on the black market. He expressed
frustration that the judicial sector was not imposing
sufficiently stiff penalties for the crime and noted that in
August there were 500 cases of wire theft; while 300 suspects
were apprehended, they are all back on the street. Enitel
has asked the government to talk judges into holding cable
thieves at least until after the election. Barreto reported
that police and/or military officials will be providing
security in the areas around the CCMs, which could help to
decrease the likelihood of these thefts impacting the CCM.


ELECTRICITY ISSUES STILL A CHALLENGE
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12. (C) While many of the CCMs will be able to function in
the event of a power outage thanks to backup generators,
Barreto said he is still concerned that a lack of electricity
could still complicate matters. Those CCMs not located in
Enitel offices may not have generators to send in the
results, not to mention guaranteed lighting. Barreto
strongly criticized President Enrique Bolanos whom he said
had told him in a recent meeting that he (the President)
could not guarantee continuous power on election day.
Barreto said that the CSE is doing its utmost to offset this
potential problem, including providing candles or lanterns to
some centers.


MANAGUA STADIUM PLAN DRAWING COMPLAINTS FROM ALN
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13. (C) The CSE has announced that the National stadium
located in Managua will be used as a CCM for JRVs in the city
that do not have capabilities to send the data on their own.
Perey noted that thirty computers will be set up in the
stadium and said the process will look much the same as it
does elsewhere, with JRV presidents arriving to send the
final actas. The ALN, however, has expressed concern that
because there are over 4,000 JRVs in Managua, use of the
stadium as a focal point for so many voting tables could
result in disorder, which, in turn, could lead to errors or
other problems.


CSE TO STICK TO THE LETTER OF THE LAW
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14. (C) Barreto expressed frustration that the CSE is put in
a difficult position of having to follow an electoral code
that is admittedly deficient and partisan. He is tired,
however, of the CSE being made out by the press as
incompetent, or worse, corrupt. Barreto argued that the CSE
is often criticized for backing the stronger political
parties (i.e. the PLC or FSLN),but that in reality the CSE
has no choice but to enforce the laws and rules, many of
which were established by those very parties. For instance,
he characterized as unfounded recent MRS claims that the CSE
was acting illegally by not distributing the third member of
the JRV positions equally among the remaining political
parties (the top two slots go to the parties that led the
previous elections). He asserted that the law does not state
that the distribution has to be even (COMMENT: It does not
stipulate that it should be uneven, either. END COMMENT.).


15. (C) Barreto made no attempt to justify the existing
rules and admitted that some are unfair. That said, he

criticized the MRS for being too "weak" and said that parties
that are unable to field observers or fiscales to all of the
voting sites have no right to complain about potential fraud.
He pointed out that the MRS was only able to nominate
candidates for about 50% of the slots open to political
parties (i.e. fiscales, JRV members, and suplentes).
Interestingly, he added that this was the first election in
which the PLC has been unable to field members in all of the
positions available to them. Barreto characterized the FSLN
as the most prepared and organized of the political parties.


FSLN TO RELY ON DIRTY BUT LEGAL TACTICS
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16. (C) Barreto was confident that the CSE has constructed a
very tight procedure that makes fraud difficult. That said,
he noted that the better prepared political parties - he
referred specifically to the FSLN - would be able to take
advantage of deficiencies or loopholes within the law to
manipulate a favorable outcome. He said the Sandinistas know
the legalities of the code inside and out because they have
used their influence in the electoral council to create the
laws. He claimed the Sandinistas already have teams of
lawyers ready to jump into action immediately after the vote
to influence the challenge-resolution process, as evidenced
by the FSLN's ability to win Granada in the 2004 municipal
elections. Barreto noted that the Sandinistas have succeeded
with this strategy in the past and he expects the FSLN will
employ these tactics in November. Thus, his concern was not
that the FSLN would 'steal' the election, but that it could
manipulate the results in its favor using entirely legal
means.



17. (C) COMMENT: While these meetings did not yield
definitive proof that the electronic transmission process
will be free of manipulation, it appears that there are
several checks and balances in place. END COMMENT.
TRIVELLI