PRESIDENTIAL VOTE COUNT ENDED, OTHER COUNTING

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000336

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: PRESIDENTIAL VOTE COUNT ENDED, OTHER COUNTING
RESTARTED


1. Summary: MINUSTAH reports that it has stopped counting
presidential ballots, and Provisional Electoral Council
Director General Jacques Bernard says the CEP will formally
announce results soon. Meanwhile, vote counting for the
deputy and senate races began February 16; MINUSTAH has
already finished counting 482 of the nearly 9,000 proces
verbaux. Based on the time they believe each step on the way
to a second round will take. End Summary.


2. MINUSTAH contacts reported February 17 that 8,791 or 95.5
percent of the proces verbaux have arrived at the Provisional
Electoral Council (CEP) Vote Tabulation Center (VTC),and
8,663 or 94.1 percent were counted. Vote counting for the
presidential race stopped as of early February 16, and
MINUSTAH officials do not believe that it will restart. CEP
General Director Jacques Bernard reports that he will make a
final announcement of the results shortly, which take into
account the inclusion of blank ballots (reftel). Bernard


3. Vote counting for the Senate and Deputy races began
February 16. MINUSTAH officials say the process will be slow
because the names for all the senate and deputy candidates
are hand written and in different orders on each process
verbal. As of early February 17, they had entered 648 proces
verbaux into the system and finalized 482. They expect
tabulation for Parliament to finish by February 26. However
a number of problems must still be worked out. Some VTC
staff went on strike on February 16 because they had not yet
been paid. UNDP promised VTC workers February 17 that they
would be paid by February 17. Further, the main
international observer groups have stopped going to the VTC
as have members of the CEP. Though Bernard invited political
party leaders to visit the VTC, the presence of international
observers remains critical to maintaining the credibility of
the counting process.


4. MINUSTAH created February 16 a time line that placed the
second round of elections on April 26. The timeline projects
that vote counting for the senate and deputy races will
finish February 26. Then it allows until the February 29 for
a 72 hour contestation period with 12 days for the CEP to
deliver decisions, provides two days for the CEP to deliver
candidate lists to the departments, gives the CEP 24 days to
print ballots, and provides 14 days for the CEP and MINUSTAH
to deliver elections materials to the provinces. CEP
Director General told DCM February 17 that the original March
19 date is still achievable.


5. Comment: The new MINUSTAH timeline is heavily padded,
though it reflects some realities of the process leading to
the second round, some of its projections are based on old
incarnations of the electoral law. After an October 20
amendment to the electoral law, the CEP is required to leave
contestation open for 24, not 72 hours. If any candidate
contests the results of their race, the CEP is legally
supposed to deliver a final response within ten days, not
twelve. Regardless, the CEP and MINUSTAH will have to move
very expeditiously in order to hold the second round by mid
to late March. End Comment.
CARNEY