HELPING MAURITANIA TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY -- FREE

C O N F I D E N T I A L NOUAKCHOTT 000872

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
F FOR U/S RANDALL TOBIAS
AF FOR A/S FRAZER, DAS THOMAS-GREENFIELD, AND AF/W
DRL FOR A/S BARRY LOWENKRON AND DAS JEFFREY KRILLA
USAID FOR DAA BONNICELLI
NEA FOR MEPI
BAGHDAD FOR USAID DIRECTOR LIBERI
FROM AMBASSADOR JOSEPH LEBARON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/11/2016
TAGS: EAID PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM MR
SUBJECT: HELPING MAURITANIA TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY -- FREE
AND FAIR ELECTIONS FIRST, THEN GOOD GOVERNANCE

REF: A. NOUAKCHOTT 784


B. NOUAKCHOTT 791

C. NOUAKCHOTT 815

Classified By: Ambassador Joseph LeBaron, 1.4(b)(d)

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(C) Key Points
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-- A historic transition to democracy is underway in
Mauritania, but the Mauritanians need our help to pull it
off. The good news is that they know that.

-- Unlike many other Arab and Islamic countries, the Islamic
Republic of Mauritania is quite receptive to the involvement
of the international community in its political process,
including that of the United States.

-- This rare receptivity gives the USG a significant
opportunity to advance one of the President's and the
Secretary's most important foreign policy objectives:

SIPDIS
transformational diplomacy that spreads democracy in the
broader Middle East.

-- Taking advantage of this historic opportunity in
Mauritania requires a two-tiered funding approach: (1) a
pre-election aid strategy in the first half of FY07 focused
on helping the Mauritanians organize free and fair elections,
and (2) a post-election aid strategy in the second half of
FY07 and in FY08 focused on making sure the newly-elected
government establishes the right policies and programs in the
areas of transparency, anti-corruption, and human rights.

-- The Mauritanians already have an excellent idea about what
it means, and what it takes, to govern well. The UN has been
teaching them that for years. We need instead to push and
prod the new government to decide to govern well, and then
help them with implementing programs and resources.

End Key Points.


1. (C) Eleven months after the bloodless military coup here,
Mauritania is still on schedule to hold important
parliamentary elections in November and a crucial
presidential election next March. Those elections must be
free and fair, if Mauritania is to have any chance of
transitioning to democracy.

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PRE-ELECTION STRATEGY
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2. (C) Accordingly, Embassy believes the USG's assistance
efforts in the rest of FY06 and the first half of FY07 should
focus on:

-- Making sure the current Transitional Government and
the Independent Electoral Commission fix the many lapses in
electoral mechanics observed during the recent constitutional
referendum on curbing presidential power (reftels).

-- Reinforcing the capacities and involvement of
political parties and civil society in the electoral process.



3. (C) The Embassy is working very hard, and in concert with
others in the international community, to make sure those
electoral lapses are fixed. NDI is also here, helping the
political parties organize themselves and prepare for
elections.

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POST-ELECTION STRATEGY
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4. (C) After the elections, good governance should be our top
priority. The new government will need prodding and pushing
from us and others to make sure it does the right thing.



5. (C) It is not that Mauritanians don't know how to govern
well. They do; they know what needs to be fixed.
Ironically, the actions taken by the illegitimate
Transitional Government during that last 11 months
convincingly demonstrates that.


6. (C) The challenge before us, then, is to make sure the
new, legitimate government builds on what the illegitimate
Transitional Government has done in the areas of
transparency, anti-corruption, and human rights. Much more
needs to be done in these areas, of course, but a start has
been made. Also, we believe particular attention must be
paid to making sure the army and other security forces stay
out of politics.

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BALANCING THE TWO STRATEGIES
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7. (C) Because good governance will be the greatest
post-election need, we need to start planning for -- and
funding -- good governance programs well in advance of the
elections.


8. (C) The Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Initiative can help.
It offers a unique approach to conduct conflict resolution
and build democracy. It would be best for the three actors
-- State, USAID and DOD -- to have a balanced approach. But
we expect our first TSCTI OEF-TS elements to arrive within
days. It is critical for USAID to have a concordant and
equally visible presence here.
LeBaron