STRENGTHENING SUPPORT FOR PAKISTAN'S ELECTIONS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 003030 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM PK SUBJECT: STRENGTHENING SUPPORT FOR PAKISTAN'S ELECTIONS REF: Islamabad 2944 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Pakistan's general elections are expected to take place in late 2007 or early 2008, and Post has been working with stakeholders, donors and the Pakistan Election Commission since 2005 to strengthen the process. This cable outlines current US and international donor projects underway and proposes the $5 million in 2007 Supplemental Funds targeted for Pakistan's elections be spent on an elections observer mission and poll-watcher training for political parties. End Summary -------------- USAID-funded Bilateral Election Support -------------- ¶2. (U) USAID and Post began working with political parties, the Electoral Commission, donors, and other stakeholders in 2005 to determine what was most needed to prepare for the next round of general elections. The following programs are the culmination of those consultations. IFES -------------- ¶3. (U) Working through the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) with a USD 19 million contract, USAID is providing technical support to the Election Commission of Pakistan in its efforts to create and computerize new voter rolls. IFES is also purchasing transparent plastic ballot boxes for election day. IFES also manages a program to promote dialogue between the Election Commission and the major political parties on the electoral framework and on dispute resolution during the election period. National Democratic Institute -------------- ¶4. (U) USAID has also supported the National Democratic Institute's (NDI) work in strengthening Pakistan's political parties since 2004 with a USD 1.7 million grant. The program, scheduled to conclude in July, supports initiatives to modernize and democratize political parties, improve their internal governance structures and processes, and encourage the emergence of a new generation of party leaders. Training has focused on issues-based campaigning, candidate selection, member list management, and internal party elections. In its final months, the NDI program turned toward election-related activities, such as informing parties on how to get their members registered to vote and evaluating the voter registration process. National Endowment for Democracy -------------- ¶5. (U) The National Endowment for Democracy provides funding to the �0A;International Republican Institute (IRI) to improve the capacity of political parties in Pakistan in advance of upcoming local and national elections. IRI's training program focuses on improving responsiveness to voters, internal communications, and media relations. Public polling -- developed in consultation with political parties -- comprises a significant aspect of IRI's activities. Polling results provide political parties with concrete data to allow them to focus their activities on voters' priorities. -------------- Multi-Donor Basket Activities -------------- ¶6. (U) USAID contributes to multi-donor basket activities, which include an Asia Foundation-managed program to support domestic election monitoring, voter education, and media training. US support will be USD 1.5 million in fiscal year 2007 for the overall USD 11.3 million project. Other donors to this project include Canada, UK, Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland. ¶7. (U) USAID also contributes to a basket-funded activity managed by the UN Development Program (UNDP) to train polling staff, support voter education, and provide other election commodities, such as transparent ballot boxes and voting screens. USAID's fiscal year 2007 contributions will be USD 1.5 million to an overall USD 27 million project. Other donors include the UK, Canada, EU, Japan, Norway, and the Netherlands. ISLAMABAD 00003030 002 OF 002 ¶8. (U) Other donors have limited their electoral support to the basket-funded activities as listed above. There are no other donors providing bilateral electoral assistance. -------------- US Assistance: Delivering Dividends -------------- ¶9. (SBU) The embedding of IFES in the Election Commission is already paying dividends. With IFES' guidance, the Election Commission has streamlined its process for adding voters to the voters' list, issued clarifying instructions for registration, extended the voter roll display period, and is considering a computerized merger of Election Commission and National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) data bases to significantly expand the voters' list (reftel). The political parties are starting to identify concrete problems for the Election Commission's Complaints Department to fix. Several parties are also actively reviewing voter lists and registering new voters. ¶10. (SBU) The cost of acquiring National Computerized Identity Cards that are required to register and vote has hindered women and some rural voters from registering. Post is actively supporting pending Pakistani proposals to subsidize or provide free National Computerized Identity Cards. Some religious parties are now pushing registration of their women voters to counter similar secular party registration efforts. -------------- Projects for the Supplemental -------------- ¶11. (SBU) Post believes that the following activities would provide the highest-impact, practical, and substantive use of the USD 5 million in 2007 Supplemental Funds for Pakistan: -- Observer Mission. The government has welcomed international election observers, and Post is planning to deploy a Mission-wide monitoring team, as we did for the 2005 provincial elections. A US-sponsored election mission would supplement this effort and provide an independent assessment on the key question of credibility. Time, budget, and security constraints will require staffing a geographically restricted mission, but careful deployment to expected problem areas can maximize resources and impact. The European Union also is planning a limited election observation mission, is enthusiastic about the possibility of US participation, and is open to working together to maximize a joint effort. -- Party Poll-Watcher Training. Previous election monitors have cited the problem of a systematic lack of awareness and training by political party workers deployed on election day. US support for party poll-watcher training would augment UNDP activities; Post believes that for such training to be effective, at least 50,000 political party observers would need to be trained. PATTERSON