HAITI ELECTION DAY PROCESS AND PLANS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 000217

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR
DRL
S/CRS
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA)
TREASURY FOR JEFFREY LEVINE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PKAO HA
SUBJECT: HAITI ELECTION DAY PROCESS AND PLANS


1. Introduction: This cable outlines the process for election
day including: opening and closing of voting centers; public
transportation; the steps to casting a vote; transporting the
results to Port-au-Prince for tabulation; and releasing the
results to the public. End Introduction.


2. Schedule for Voting Centers
--------------

- 5:00 a.m.: 38,000 voting center personnel arrive at voting
centers.
- 5:00 a.m. - 6:00 a.m.: Personnel set up voting
- 6:00 a.m.: Voting opens
- 4:00 p.m.: Voting closes (any voters already in line at
1600 will be allowed to vote)


3. Public Transportation Available
--------------

The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) and IGOH plan to
allow public transportation on election day, but have not
decided how to handle private vehicles. CEP Director General
Jacques Bernard believes private vehicles used for carpools
should be permitted to facilitate middle class voting.
MINUSTAH, the HNP, and UNPOL plan to set-up perimeters around
each voting center to prevent traffic from clogging the
centers, but have not finished working out the details of the
plan. MINUSTAH elections officials have also requested that
the IGOH prohibit all traffic after voting to facilitate
results transportation and augment security.


4. Steps to Casting a Vote
--------------

- Voting site (BV) First Secretary checks voter IDs at the
door to the BV and directs them to the president of the BV.
- BV President examines both of the voter's hands to make
sure there is no mark indicating they have already voted.
- BV President finds voter's name, photo (identical to the ID
card photo) and ID number on the partial electoral list (LEP).
- Voter signs next to their name on the LEP.
- BV Vice President gives the voter a ballot for
presidential, senatorial and deputy races.
- BV Vice President explains that the voter can choose one
president, three senators, and one deputy.
- BV Vice President explains that voter should fold ballot as
soon as he votes to keep his decision private.
- Voter casts vote at table divided in four by a cardboard
divider.
- BV Second Secretary helps voter place ballots in boxes
corresponding to each race, but does not touch ballots.
- BV Second Secretary marks voter's thumb nail with indelible
marker.


5. Counting the Votes
--------------

- Vote count begins at 1600 or after all voters in line at 4
p.m. have voted.
- Candidate, party, national, and international observers
monitor counting. They will be asked keep a separate count
to verify the official count before the BV president records
the official results.
- Beginning with the presidential race, the BV President will
remove ballots from the ballot box one by one, calling out
who the vote is for, if the ballot is blank, or if the ballot
is undecipherable.
- BV President will show the ballot to all observers so they
can confirm his assessment.
- BV Secretaries will sort the ballots by candidate.
- Once all the ballots are removed from the box and sorted,
the BV secretaries will count the votes for each candidate.

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- The votes will be counted again if any of the observers in
the room disagree with the count.
- Once, all the observers agree on the results, the BV
president will fill out the tally sheet and place clear tape
over the results on every carbon copy of the tally sheet.
- BV Secretaries will seal all of the ballots in one of the
ballot boxes.
- BV President seals three tally sheets in envelopes, one for
the communal electoral bureau (BEC),one for the departmental
electoral bureau (BED),and one for the CEP as required by
the electoral law.
- BV President seals the tally sheet for the CEP as well as
the time and attendance sheets for the poll workers in a
tamper-proof plastic bag for delivery to Port-au-Prince.
- A tally sheet is given to each of the two political parties
with the most votes, and one is displayed publicly on the
wall of the BV.
- CEP staff accompany the results throughout the process;
only Haitian elections workers are allowed to handle the
results.
- UN vehicles and in some cases rented animals carry the
sealed results to UN departmental bases co-located with or
close to the BEDs.
- The UN will provide space in all vehicles carrying results
(trucks and helicopters) for observers.


6. Ballots Stored, Tally Sheets Transferred
--------------

- CEP staff unloads the ballots and tally sheets at MINUSTAH
departmental bases.
- Ballots are locked in secure storage.
- One copy of each tally sheet is sent to the relevant BEC,
the BED, and the tabulation center in Port-au-Prince

Note: Elections officials hope to transport tally sheets to
the tabulation center in Port-au-Prince quickly. However,
they caution that because results transportation from some
remote areas may be by donkey and some roads are nearly
impassable in foul weather, it will likely take 3 - 5 days to
count all of the results in Port-au-Prince. End Note.


7. Tabulating and Releasing the Results
--------------

- CEP workers log in each tally sheet by their unique
identification number as they arrive at the tabulation center
(septel).
- Each tally sheet is randomly assigned to an OAS/CEP-trained
operator who enters the results into a computer.
- The sheet is then passed to another randomly selected
operator who enters the results a second time.
- If the two entries do not match, the sheet is sent to a
committee that examines the entered results and the tally
sheet to verify the results.
- The CEP will release results from the USAID-funded media
center, but has not yet decided when they will begin to
release results.

Note: Members of the press, elections observers, and members
of the diplomatic community will have access to the
tabulation center throughout the counting process. However,
the tabulation center is divided into sections to prevent
results from leaking before they are officially release by
the CEP. End Note.


8. Comment: It has taken many delay-filled months for
MINUSTAH and the CEP to develop the electoral process, but
the technical process for voting and tabulation is complete.
Elections organizers still worry about personnel problems,
traffic on election day, confused crowds at voting centers,
and the potential for violence. They also worry about

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politically motivated contestation after the election and
potential spoilers. This year's election day process will
make fraud significantly more difficult than in past
elections and should lead to a more credible result.
CARNEY