CONFIDENCE AND SINCERE CONCERN FOR A "LEGITIMATE" VOTING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASHGABAT 000176 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN (PERRY),SCA/PPD (KAMP),EUR/ACE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ETRD TX TNGD KPAO ECON SUBJECT: CONFIDENCE AND SINCERE CONCERN FOR A "LEGITIMATE" VOTING PROCESS -- AHAL WELAYAT ELECTION VISIT ASHGABAT 00000176 001.2 OF 003 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) Ahal Welayat (province) officials appeared well-prepared, sincere, and uncharacteristically inquisitive about America during PAO's visit concerning preparations for Turkmenistan's first ever multi-candidate election for the presidency. Despite the controlled nature of the transition and electoral process following president-for-life Niyazov's death, preparations for the actual voting process seemed genuine. Interaction with the welayat electoral commission was more collegial than the standard official government meeting. Some members, but especially the deputy hakim, were open and confident in their discussions with the PAO. End Summary. RELATIVELY "OPEN" DISCUSSION AT THE WELAYAT HEADQUARTERS -------------- ¶2. (U) On February 7, PAO visited Ahal Welayat as part of the embassy's election visits for the upcoming presidential vote on February 11. At the Anew governor's office (hakimlik) PAO met with the confident and personable deputy hakim, Maysa Yazmuhammedova, who also serves as the welayat's electoral commission chair, along with other commission members. Despite a rather formal beginning, the relaxed nature of most commission members -- including Yazmuhammedova -- eventually resulted in the meeting turning towards less formal, even friendly discussion. At times PAO mildly asked for input and views from all members of the commission. Most members made an effort to speak, and even revealed a minor diversity of opinion among commission members. ¶3. (U) PAO's initial questions about Ahal's nominating process of two candidates in the December 26 Halk Malahaty session, financial assistance or local support for the "Ahal candidate," Orazmyrat Garajayev, received direct and cordial answers. Yazmuhammedova took the lead on answering these questions, and confidently explained that the Halk Maslahaty's agenda requesting that each welayat be prepared to nominate candidates had been provided two-three days prior to the session. She openly said that Ahal had considered nominating the interim president, among many other candidates from various parts of Ahal (Note: Interim President Berdimuhammedov was nominated in an emotional speech by the head of the Democratic Party. End Note). She and other members also explained that all travel, speaking engagements, voter meetings with candidates, etc. were paid from the country's central budget and therefore no other financial support was "needed." A heavy emphasis was placed on the fairness and equality of government support for all six candidates. ¶4. (U) Although Yazmuhammedova did not directly admit a lack of polling procedures, she made a great effort to draw attention to the ways that candidates were eliciting public opinion. In addition to public meetings with candidates, she highlighted the recently created "hotline" for providing information on the elections as a channel for proposals and complaints from ordinary citizens. (Note: Reportedly a caller must provide personal details before offering any suggestions. End Note) ¶5. (U) From time to time other members of the commission offered specific details about the electoral process and support for specific candidates, helping to create a slightly more comfortable discussion atmosphere. When asked, various commission members stressed that Ahal voters could and would vote for whomever they thought the best candidate was, and that Garajayev was unlikely to receive many local just because he was the "Ahal candidate." They thought that as Abadan city's mayor, he might get more votes from his district or from those who already knew him. Yazmuhammedova also emphasized that she could not speak for typical voters and each individual could vote for any of the candidates. ¶6. (U) Nearing the end of the meeting, PAO asked for the opinion of all commission members as to what issue would be the most important ASHGABAT 00000176 002.2 OF 003 for the new president. Yazmuhammedova non-verbally encouraged members to speak up with approving body language. The result was that each one provided individualized comments, but still within the lines of official campaign platforms. Peace and stability was emphasized by some members. One noted that stability was a prerequisite for any others. Agriculture was noted by another as an area that should be reformed because of Turkmenistan's great agricultural potential. Education was noted more than once with one member specifying that the return to 10 years of mandatory education would be an important improvement. As a preface to answers, many stated that Turkmenistan did not face any urgent or crisis issues, before noting an area in need of reform. ¶7. (U) As the discussion become more interactive, commission members started to query the PAO about American presidential elections. The questions reflected sincere interest, including "How does a candidate get on the ballot?" and "Do candidates have to be sponsored by a party or can they run as individuals?" In the course of talking about American political parties, PAO commented that few foreigners knew about the U.S. Communist Party, which had a presidential candidate on the ballot in every recent election. The deputy chair of the election commission, also the head of the Turkmenistan Democratic Party for Ahal Welayat, jokingly quipped "we don't need to hear more about the communists!" and helped to further lighten the mood. Due to time constraints the active discussion was cut short, but PAO used the opportunity to advertise the embassy's Information Resource Center and the possibility of learning more about American elections and politics through exchanges or other PD programs. INFORMATIVE AND FRIENDLY VISITS TO POLLING STATIONS -------------- -------------- ¶8. (U) Following the meeting, Yazmuhammedova escorted PAO through polling stations number 4 and 5 in the Ak Bugday Etrap (county). It was apparent that Yazmuhammedova had a close working relationship with these polling stations as she introduced the PAO to staff and personally gave an overview of the stations' procedures. The procedures described appeared to be adequate at assuring one vote per person and the secrecy of an individual's ballot. Beyond this, great efforts were made to provide information and procedural instructions to voters. Yazmuhammedova also pointed out politically neutral "extra information" beyond election law requirements. This included contact information for individual polling station staff, some general statistics about voters in the precincts covered and a "newcomer list," congratulating young first-time voters in the precinct. During the visit to polling station four, at least two individuals entered for information on the voting process. ¶9. (U) Station number four was housed in a state cultural center with a large auditorium that had previously been the venue of a campaign meeting with candidates. Yazmuhammedova proudly answered questions about the popularity and enthusiasm of the overflow crowd of people who attended that meeting. When asked who was allowed to attend, she confidently explained that it was open to the public but they had tried to ensure that a few people from each voting precinct were included. COMMENT -------------- ¶10. (U) The welayat electoral commission and staff at polling stations, were well-versed in electoral procedures but in a sincere manner distinct from the rote memorization commonplace before Niyazov's death. They also appeared to have made strong efforts to be politically neutral in their election preparations. Even though the "elephant in the room" is that the nominating and campaign processes are still choreographed by the state, the comments of most commission members reflected a greater concern for the "legitimacy" and procedures of this election than that encountered during December 2006 etrap elections. ASHGABAT 00000176 003.2 OF 003 ¶11. (U) The open, confident, and enthusiastic nature of the Deputy Hakim Yazmuhammedova appeared to demonstrate sincere commitment to the electoral process as something more than a formal exercise. Her analytical and thoughtful responses to questions (rather than a "party line" response) were more reminiscent of a problem-solving critical thinker. Moreover, she responded warmly to PAO's suggestions of further embassy engagement with the Ahal Welayat. End Comment. BRUSH