INCREASING U.S. SUPPORT FOR COTE D'IVOIRE'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 000095

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/26/2017
TAGS: EAID PHUM PREL PGOV IV
SUBJECT: INCREASING U.S. SUPPORT FOR COTE D'IVOIRE'S
ELECTORAL PROCESS

REF: ABIDJAN 0043

Classified By: POL/ECON Jim Wojtasiewicz, reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).


1. (U) Post strongly supports the IFES proposal for a
two-year project to expand U.S. support for the electoral
process in Cote d,Ivoire.


2. (U) IFES has done excellent work in the first phase of
this project. In particular, the Prime Minister,s Secretary
General wrote to us that the roundtables that IFES is
organizing with all the electoral process stakeholders are an
important contribution to the Prime Minister,s efforts to
organize the elections. He expressed the Prime Minister,s
thanks to IFES and the United States for the commitment this
shows to helping Cote d,Ivoire emerge from its crisis.


3. (C) Indeed, as we noted in reftel, the fact that Cote
d,Ivoire is in a political deadlock with elections seen as
the exit door out of this crisis only makes it all the more
important for the United States to remain engaged, to play a
catalytic role in helping the Ivoirians take control of their
future. The expanded technical support that IFES proposes to
provide to Cote d,Ivoire,s electoral institutions, and the
civic and voter education campaign that it proposes to
organize, are excellent ways to put our words of support into
action, and increase our leverage over the parties here.
Conversely, to end our support for the electoral process now
would send the wrong signal that we are losing hope and/or
interest. The United States is respected by all sides in the
crisis here as a neutral party, and we believe an expansion
of the support we are providing would have a multiplier
effect in helping to bring about free and fair elections as
soon as possible.
Hooks