GOVERNMENT UNVEILS ROADMAP TO ELECTIONS BY END OF

UNCLAS DHAKA 001153 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV KGOV KDEM BG SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT UNVEILS ROADMAP TO ELECTIONS BY END OF 2008 REF: DHAKA 1095 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Bangladesh's Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda announced a "roadmap" for elections in a press conference on July 15. The plan calls for national polls by December 2008, with staggered local elections beginning in January 2008. END SUMMARY. NATIONAL ELECTIONS BY DECEMBER '08 ================================== ¶2. (SBU) In a press conference on July 15, Bangladesh's Chief Election Commissioner (CEC),ATM Shamsul Huda, announced a "roadmap" for holding the postponed parliamentary elections originally scheduled for January 2007. The timeline calls for national elections by December 2008, with municipal elections taking place on a staggered basis beginning in January 2008. ¶3. (SBU) Huda said a draft voter list with photographs will be finished and publicly posted by June 2008, followed by a six- to eight-week period for corrections. The final list will be completed and printed by October 2008. Voter registration will start first in Rajshahi in mid-August, based on the methodology used in the voter registration pilot project in Sreepur (reftel). The entire registration process will require 200,000 enumerators and 150,000 data entry personnel working out of 30,000 voter registration centers around the country. PARTY DIALOGUE IN SEPTEMBER =========================== ¶4. (SBU) The Commission will begin meeting with parties to discuss electoral reforms in September 2007. Political parties will be required to register with the Election Commission by June 2008 to be able to participation in the December 2008 parliamentary elections. MANDATORY REDRAWING OF CONSTITUENCIES... ======================================== ¶5. (SBU) The CEC announced that the Commission was required by law to redraw constituencies -- something the previous government failed to do after the 2001 census. This exercise will run from January to June 2008. AND A TENTATIVE "NO" TO TRANSPARENT BALLOT BOXES ============================================= === ¶6. (SBU) Huda said that after close examination of the issue, including reviewing input international donors gave the Election Commission in November, they believe using transparent ballot boxes in the future parliamentary elections would be too expensive, "unsustainable," and have a negligible effect on the electoral process. He added, however, that no "final decision" had been made, and international donor funding may be available to fund transparent ballot boxes if the Commission ultimately chooses to use them. ¶7. (SBU) Huda added that he would request the government ease the state of emergency "if needed" to start holding municipal elections. He added that if the voter registration process proceeds more quickly than expected, the December 2008 election date could be moved up. MUTED PARTY REACTIONS ===================== ¶8. (SBU) Reaction from the two main political parties was limited. In reacting to the CEC's announcement, Awami League Presidium member Motia Chowdhury said preparations for the next elections were taking too much time and complained (incorrectly) that the CEC failed to mention anything about the Awami League's demand for transparent ballot boxes. Bangladesh Nationalist Party Joint Secretary Ashraf Hossain expressed support for the roadmap, though he added an official BNP reaction would be forthcoming. PASI