Interior Minister Promises to Deliver Free and Transparent

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000155 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR AF/W, AF/EX, DS/IP/AF, CA/OCS TREASURY FOR OFFICE OF AFRICAN NATIONS ALSO FOR AID/AFR E.O. 12598: N/A TAGS: PGOV ELAB ASEC CASC PINS AEMR EAID GV SUBJECT: Interior Minister Promises to Deliver Free and Transparent Elections REF: Conakry 143 and Previous ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Despite the environment of uncertainty and tension over the naming of a prime minister (reftel),Guinea's government says it is moving forward with improvements to the electoral process. Minister of State for Internal Affairs Moussa Solano presided over the February 8 opening ceremony of a training workshop for approximately 200 persons on the revision of electoral lists. Solano celebrated Guinea's achievement in implementing political reforms and called on the participants to ensure all citizens receive modern voter identification cards. He stressed the "political will of the government to guarantee free, transparent, and credible elections." End Summary. -------------- Ministry Officials All Smiles for Attendees -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On February 8, Minister of State for Internal Affairs and Government Spokesperson Moussa Solano presided over the opening ceremony for a workshop ostensibly in preparation for June 2007 legislative elections. There were over 200 participants from Conakry, including mayors, political party and civil society representatives, municipal general secretaries, district chairpersons, and a journalist from the private media. The training is the first of several that will inform citizens all over Guinea about the process to revise Guinea's electoral lists. In addition to Conakry, the seminars will be held in Kindia, Labe, Kankan, and N'Zerekore; they are being organized by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization and funded by UNDP. ¶3. (SBU) Minister Solano was accompanied by the ministry's senior staff including the General Secretary, Political Advisor, Elections Department Director, and the directors of other divisions. They were all smiles, warmly greeting Poloff who represented the Embassy at the event. Although all of the other embassies in Conakry were invited, few attended. UNDP was not represented, nor was the EU, which is funding the equipment (7.5 million euros) to support the new voter registration process. -------------- -------------- "Election Results Will Be Accepted by All Guineans" -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) In his opening remarks, Solano recounted the important achievements that Guinea has made over the last 18 months, citing single ballots, transparent boxes, and citizen involvement as poll watchers in the December 2005 local and municipal elections. He highlighted more recent advances made through the dialogue between political parties and the government that yielded consensus on the creation of an independent electoral commission, the status of opposition parties, and financing of political parties. The next step in the reform process, he said, is the deployment of advanced equipment to greatly improve and modernize Guinea's voter registration process. ¶5. (SBU) Solano said that although Guinean law sets aside October 1 to December 31 every year for the purpose of ordinary revisions, the new equipment will provide an "extraordinary" opportunity to revise lists in a way they have never before. (Comment. Although he did not explicitly say it, Solano intimated that due to the difference in the process, the revision is valid although outside of the standard dates.) Solano invited all participants to pay close attention to the training and make sure they fully understood the new and improved voter registration process. This is critical, he said, so that they can make the demarche about this electoral process to all members of the political class. ¶6. (SBU) Solano emphasized that, "By taking advantage of the latest technologies, we will stop irregularities in the voting process and ensure that the results of the election are accepted by all Guineans -- this is our deepest wish." Solano stated that voter registration will be an inclusive process with thousands of Guineans serving on more than 1,300 administrative commissions that will oversee the revision process. He concluded, "You have the political will of the government to do its part to guarantee free, transparent, and credible elections." -------------- Comment -------------- ¶7. (SBU) More interesting than the content of the training was the surreal attitude of Solano and other government officials. The CONAKRY 00000155 002 OF 002 minister and his staff acted as if they did not have a care in the world except the electoral process, picking up their demarche where they left off just before the strike. This is despite the phrase we have heard repeated in all sectors of society, "After this strike, everything is different - no more business as usual." Perhaps those at today's event did not get the memo. During the course of his remarks, Solano mentioned twice the name of President General Lansana Conte; each time drawing loud applause from the participants. Meantime, while Solano and those in attendance proceeded with business as usual, the majority of the population does not believe that credible elections can be "guaranteed" under this regime. End Comment. MCDONALD