Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ISLAMABAD3030
2007-07-12 10:04:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Islamabad
Cable title:
STRENGTHENING SUPPORT FOR PAKISTAN'S ELECTIONS
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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
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
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
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
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