HAITI ELECTIONS: ANNOUNCEMENT OF SECOND ROUND

C O N F I D E N T I A L PORT AU PRINCE 000476 SIPDIS SIPDIS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/10/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PKAO EAID HA SUBJECT: HAITI ELECTIONS: ANNOUNCEMENT OF SECOND ROUND IMMINENT REF: A. PORT-AU-PRINCE 467 ¶B. PORT-AU-PRINCE 410 ¶C. PORT-AU-PRINCE 355 Classified By: CDA Douglas Griffiths. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Charge d'Affaires met with Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) President Max Mathurin and CEP Councilor Josefa Gauthier over breakfast March 10. Mathurin confirmed that a press conference was scheduled for noon March 10 to announce the electoral calendar. The CEP has already prepared a letter to the executive announcing April 21 as the date for the second round election for formal publication in the official government gazette Le Moniteur. Mathurin demurred to name the date for the investiture of Parliament or the Presidential inauguration date saying that those dates are the prerogative of the executive branch. However, he expected that seating the legislature would take place on or about April 29 with the National Assembly (both houses of Parliament) convened on April 30 for the inauguration of President-elect Preval. ¶2. (C) President-elect Preval told Charge March 8 that regardless of the inauguration date, he will leave office on February 7, 2011, honoring the presidential succession date in the Haitian constitution. No formal contacts between the CEP and the Preval team have been made despite that suggestion raised in reftel A. However, the formal announcement March 9 of the joint IGOH and Preval transition team provides a forum to keep the Preval team informed on the electoral process. GRIFFITHS