ELECTIONS UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 002171

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR
DRL
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA)
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM HA
SUBJECT: ELECTIONS UPDATE

REF: A. PAP 2105

B. PAP 1846


1. Summary. Elections preparations are on track and the
Provisionary Electoral Council (CEP) is completing its
checklist of remaining tasks, according to CEP Director
General Jacques Bernard. CEP has taken over the primary role
of implementing the elections but remain in daily contact
with MINUSTAH on logistics. The prime minister and the
minister of interior acknowledged the good news but stressed
the importance of voter education and transparency. The
Director General of the CEP responded to these concerns,
stating that the CEP maintained neutrality throughout the
process and favored no political party. Transparency has
become a large issue on the heels of an international report
calling Haiti the most corrupt nation in the world and a CEP
accounting review finding irregularities in their spending.
The pressure is on both the CEP and the executive to make
this process open and transparent to prove to the
international community they can enter into democracy
autonomously. End Summary.

Election Preparations are on Schedule



2. (U) Bernard reported to the Prime Minister, members of the
Cabinet, SRSG Edmond Mulet, and the international community
on November 7 that all electoral preparations were on
schedule. Bernard rattled off items that had been completed;
voting centers, voter lists, electoral boundary limits, and
poll worker trainer training. All voting materials for 9
departments had been delivered from the Dominican Republic
and materials for the last department, the West would be
delivered on the following Monday. According to Bernard, all
other remaining tasks for election day have started and he
anticipate &no problem at all8 for the December 3 election.



3. (U) SRSG Mulet agreed that everything was in place.
MINUSTAH officers now have daily meetings with CEP officials
regarding logistics. This week, the CEP gave MINUSTAH the
addresses of the 28 new voting centers and his officers were
in the process of identifying and securing the locations.
Mulet also reported that there was ample military presence in
each department. From his perspective, the only item
remaining for MINUSTAH was coordination with the Haitian
National Police (HNP). Mulet planned to meet with Director
General of the HNP Mario Andresol the following week to
discuss HNP assistance with election day security.

No Gaps in the Budget



4. (U) The Canadians and Brazilians have disbursed their
promised funds, approximately $4 million USD and exactly $1
million USD, respectively. The Japanese have promised
approximately $800,000 USD after they receive an explanation
of how the funds would be used. And, the GoH would also
contribute $1.5 million USD. Together with funds from the
USG and the EU, the $16.9 million dollar budget has been met.
(Note: The status of the money from the EU was not discussed
during the Prime Minister,s meeting but it is well known
that these funds will not be disbursed prior to the elections
(ref A) End Note.)

CEP takes on role as Chief Implementer



5. (SBU) Argentinean Ambassador Ernesto Justo Lopez asked for
clarification on the role of MINUSTAH versus the CEP during
this round of elections. (Note: There has been an ongoing
tension between the Electoral Assistance Section (EAS) of
MINUSTAH and the CEP. EAS Director was recently given a new
position within MINUSTAH to relieve some tensions between the
two organizations. However, EAS personnel remain sensitive,
feeling sidelined from the technical aspects of the elections
process. (ref B) End Note.) Mulet explained that MINUSTAH
was no longer responsible for the technical aspects of the
election as it had been in the previous rounds. Bernard
reiterated that the CEP was responsible for these elections.
In his view, the transfer of all technical knowledge had
already been done and that the CEP was simply assuming its

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proper responsibility. Canadian Ambassador Claude Boucher
agreed and stressed that this transfer was something that the
international community had envisioned from the beginning,
that the Haitians drive their own democratic process.

Voter Education Urged



6. (U) The Minister of Interior Paul Bien-Aime raised the
issue of the electorate's awareness of voting centers in the
newly defined voting zones (ref A). According to Bien-Aime,
a few of the political parties have complained that the
location of the voting centers gave advantage to certain
candidates. Bernard acknowledged that political parties were
complaining but responded that the CEP had selected voting
centers that were as neutral as possible. He told Bien-Aime
that he could not satisfy all political parties but only
strive for neutrality. Parliamentarians were making demands
for candidates in their party and there would be requests for
changes until the last minute but the CEP would hold to its
plan.


7. (U) Bernard said that voters would be familiar with the
ballots because they are similar to the ballots of the first
two rounds. The ballots for local and municipal elections
will contain no candidate photos. In place of photos, the
names of the candidates comprising the rural administrative
municpalities (CASEC and ASECs) will appear. Political party
logos, as before, would be displayed under the names.

Transparency Required



8. (SBU) The Prime Minister stressed the importance of
transparency during this election. Observers would be
permitted but everyone, including parliamentarians and VIPs,
must have proper identification to enter the voting areas.
The Prime Minister, clearly concerned about public image of
the elections, said that voter response in February was a
display of Haitian will and that voters would not accept the
same situation of uncertainty and lack of transparency. He
urged the CEP to announce the results quickly because if not,
&it would expose the country to flare ups and other
insecurities.8 At the same time, he expressed bemusement in
the recent results of the Transparency International study,
finding Haiti the most corrupt nation in the world, given
that his government was recently installed. Thus, they had a
&burden8 to show &we are different.8


9. (U) Bernard expected several groups of electoral observers
for the local and municipal elections. There will be a
contingent of Canadian observers, members from the Haiti
Democratic Project, and numerous domestic groups that had
registered as observers.

CEP Accounting Irregularities



11. (U) The Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative
Litigation published a report on November 6 concerning the
accounting practices of the CEP. The report stated that
there are accounting irregularities in the disbursement of
funds of the CEP amounting to 4 million Haitian gourdes
(approximately $ 400,000 USD). President Max Mathurin has
not publicly addressed these allegations. During the meeting
on November 7, however, he told the Prime Minister that he
intended to give him a full report.


12. (SBU) Comment: Despite EAS dissatisfaction with technical
aspects of the election, the latest corruption scandal, and
rumors that Preval does not want local elections because they
could ignite local violence, voters will go to the polls on
December 3. CEP and MINUSTAH are prepared and money is the
UNDP coffers. The CEP is ready to prove that they have the
expertise to implement elections. Transparency has become a
large issue on the heels of an international report calling
Haiti the most corrupt nation in the world and a CEP
accounting review finding irregularities in their spending.
The pressure is on both the CEP and the executive to make
this process open and transparent to prove to the
international community they can administer their own
elections. End Comment.

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