SUBJECT: CENSUS BEGINS, MARKING SIGNIFICANT STEP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NOUAKCHOTT 000200

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/22/2016
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PINR EAID MR
SUBJECT: SUBJECT: CENSUS BEGINS, MARKING SIGNIFICANT STEP
TOWARDS ELECTIONS


Classified By: CDA Steven Koutsis, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)

--------------
(U) Key Points
--------------

-- The Mauritanian census and voter registration drive began
February 16 and is scheduled to end March 15, with an
additional two to four week period for late registration.

-- As many as 200,000 eligible voters -- nearly 20 percent of
the estimated eligible voting population -- currently lack
National ID cards required for voter registration.

-- Police officials charged with issuing ID cards reported
being "overwhelmed" with the "significant increase in
requests for ID cards."

--------------
(C) Comments
--------------

-- The census is now in full-swing and appears well
coordinated. Emboffs observed census takers as they
performed their duties. The workers appeared motivated and
knowledgeable about their duties. The National Statistic
Office appears ready to collate the information, but it is
still too early to test the system.

-- The issue of National ID cards is particularly important
for Afro-Mauritanians, who constitute a significant majority
of those without the cards.

End Key Points and Comments.


1. (U) During two days of observations in Nouakchott and
Rosso areas February 21-22 organized by the local UN
Secretariat for Electoral Assistance, EmbOffs followed census

SIPDIS
takers, witnessed voter registrations and met with
representatives from the Ministry of the Interior, the
National Statistics Office (NSO) and the National Independent
Electoral Commission. The "Administrative Census for the
Purpose of Elections" (known here by its French acronym
"RAVEL") -- the goal of which is to create a voters lists --
began February 16 and is scheduled to end March 15, with an
additional two to four week period for late registration.
Emboffs were accompanied by UN election experts, other
embassy representatives and representatives from the Club De
Madrid.


2. (C) There are several actors involved in the census
process, including the Ministry of the Interior charged with
running the census, the NSO charged with creating and
verifying the electoral list database, the police charged
with issuing the National ID cards needed to register, and
the electoral commission charged with supervising the entire
process. While some coordination problems have been reported
-- such as communication difficulties with regions that lack
adequate cellular coverage -- the majority of actors report
good collaboration.

--------------
NATIONAL ID CARDS CONSTITUTE LARGEST HURDLE
--------------


3. (C) Census officials unanimously acknowledged that
National ID cards constituted the "largest hurdle" in the
census process. According to ONS and Ministry of the
Interior figures, as many as 200,000 eligible voters --
nearly 20 percent of the estimated eligible voting population
-- currently lack National ID cards required for voter
registration. In one village in the Southern boarder city of
Rosso, electoral commission workers reported that 127
residents were registered, but an additional 21 eligible
voters were not registered because they did not have their ID
cards. These residents were instructed to apply for their ID
cards in Rosso, where they could then be registered to vote.
According to census officials, the ID application process
took between three to five days for applicants with the
required documents.


NOUAKCHOTT 00000200 002 OF 002



4. (C) EmbOff met many residents in the Rosso area who said
they lacked the birth certificates necessary to apply for
National ID cards. These individuals did not know how to
request birth certificates, and census officials were mixed
on how -- or if -- applicants could acquire them. "Without a
birth certificate you can't get a National ID card,"
President of the regional electoral commission in the Trarza
Region Ndiadiawar Kane said, adding that "there isn't enough
time to get a birth certificate, so these people just won't
be able to participate." In contrast, observers in
Nouakchott noted that civil registry officials were able to
meet the surge in demand for birth certificates, and appear
to be relaxing somewhat the strict rules for obtaining the
document.


5. (C) The government has said that they have opened -- or
are in the process of opening -- 66 new offices for issuing
National ID cards. However, during EmbOff's visit, Rosso was
the only city with a National ID office in the Trarza Region
-- one of the more populated of Mauritania's 13 regions.
Police officials charged with issuing ID cards in Rosso
reported being "overwhelmed" with the "significant increase
in requests for ID cards." EmbOff observed several hundred
applicants waiting for ID cards at the Rosso location.

--------------
THE REGISTRATION PROCESS
--------------


6. (U) The census involves door-to-door canvassing of
neighborhoods by a one to four person team of census workers.
Once residents have been identified and have shown their
National ID card, the census worker records their name,
location, ID card number and census registration number in a
log book. This same information is given to the resident as
a receipt verifying their registration.


7. (U) When the log book of 800 names is filled, the book is
sent to the ONS in Nouakchott to be entered by NSO officials
into the voter lists database and the name and National ID
number are verified against the existing list of National
IDs. If a discrepancy arises at the data entry level, a
problem resolution unit has been established to research the
name. If the discrepancy cannot be handled administratively,
NSO will send the case back to the region for investigation
and resolution. Emboff observed ONS employees in training,
using previous census books to practice data entry. However,
the NSO has not yet received any logs, so its system has not
yet been fully activated.


8. (U) NSO will issue voter's cards to all registered voters
to be distributed through the regional authorities. However,
NSO officials told observers that the cards are only a
convenience to help poll workers find names on the voters
lists, and are not required to be presented for voting.
Voters will be required to show their National ID cards on
election day, however.


9. (C) Census workers in Nouakchott said it was difficult to
find people at home during working hours and census
organizers were considering changing canvassing hours to
afternoon and evening. Several census workers in Rosso
complained about the long hours and heavy workload. "If I
had known it was this much work, I would not have agreed to
the job," one census worker said, adding that his salary of
approximately 260 USD per month was "insufficient for the
amount of work they are asking us to do."
LeBaron