FRANCOPHONIE ELECTION EVALUATION MISSION VISITS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LOME 000257 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS PARIS FOR D'ELIA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM PREL TO SUBJECT: FRANCOPHONIE ELECTION EVALUATION MISSION VISITS TOGO ¶1. (SBU) Summary: A technical evaluation mission from the Intergovernmental Francophone Agency (Francophonie),led by Nelson Messone, called on Ambassador on March 28 and shared observations of the political situation in Togo in the run up to legislative elections scheduled for June 24. The group noted that the National Electoral Commission (CENI),while spirited, is weak in technical execution of its work. Messone indicated that they would recommend that Francophonie provide training in election reporting to the Togolese media. End Summary ¶2. (U) A Francophonie technical evaluation mission from Paris, led by Nelson Messone from the Office of the Secretary General, along with counselors Ntole Kazadi and Mohamed Traore, called on Ambassador on March 28 and shared observations of the political situation in Togo in the run up to legislative elections scheduled for June 24. The mission has consulted widely, calling on members of the donor community, government ministries, political parties, journalists and members of civil society. The mission is assessing what election assistance the Francophonie will provide. They indicated that they would probably provide training to the media. The CENI ¶3. (SBU) The team noted that the CENI (Independent National Election Commission) has a positive spirit but seems weak. They lack a precise plan for their activities. The donor community is prepared to make major contributions to support the election, but the CENI has not yet produced a firm budget. Several months ago a fire damaged their computer system, and they have not fully recovered from the loss. A new election law was passed recently putting into effect the changes to the election process that were agreed in the Global Political Accord signed last August. The CENI has not yet produced a text of regulations to implement the law. The CENI has much to accomplish before June 24 and needs to pick up the pace. The Ambassador agreed that the CENI has good ntetios but hs two main problems - coming to decisions among themselves and coordinating their efforts with the GoT ministries involved with the elections. The CENI would rather go to Burkina President Blaise Compaore for a decision on a difficult election issue than wrestle with the issue and make a decision themselves. The slowness of the decision-making process creates the risk of technical problems being politicized. The donor community is trying to mitigate that risk by pushing on the CENI to meet their commitments, but in the end, it is up to the Togolese. The electorate ¶4. (U) Messone noted that the body politic seems peaceful. There is some preoccupation about election security, but Messone said he sensed a certain good will on the part of the government. The mission was willing to give the GoT the benefit of the doubt in terms of their intentions to hold a good election. The opposition parties ¶5. (SBU) The principal opposition party, the UFC (Union des Forces de Changement) seemed ambiguous about the whole election process. They played hard to get when the National Dialogue group was formed and are hedging their bets at every turn. They bargained hard in reaching the Global Political Accord, which they signed in August 2006, but they have refused to participate in the Government of National Union. With their lack of engagement in the election process, they are missing an opportunity to energize their members to participate in the elections. The UFC wants some election observers to come from foreign militaries. There were French and West African military observers in Togo for the 1998 elections, and their presence deterred the Togolese military from interfering with the election process. ¶6. (SBU) The other major opposition parties, the CAR (Action Committee for Renewal) and CDPA (Democratic Convention of African Peoples),are participating in the Government of National Union and in the elections. They feel somewhat uncertain about the integrity of the registration process using the computer kits borrowed from the DRC. Both parties are concerned with election security. They know the system is LOME 00000257 002 OF 002 not perfect, but they are of good will and are moving ahead. The Ambassador commented that although opposition party members are members of the CENI and have considerable control of the process, the old fear of being tricked in the election process persists. The media ¶7. (SBU) Messone and his group commented on the lack of professionalism among the press corps. Messone said he would recommend to his headquarters that they provide training to the press in election coverage. The Ambassador agreed that this kind of assistance would be useful and noted that the Embassy has conducted several seminars and held programs to attempt to raise the standard of political reporting by Togolese journalists. ¶8. (SBU) Comment: The Francophonie team's observations match post's assessment of the pre-election situation. For the first time in many years, the UFC has a chance to share power in governing Togo, but the party's leadership has been indecisive and prefers to play politics rather than engage. The CENI is weak and seems to need the push it is getting from the donor community to get voter registration and elections on track. There is in all likelihood too much work still to be done to have an election by June 24, but no one is talking about a new date just yet. Post predicts that a new election date will be announced after the GoT has a better idea of how long it will take to deploy the voter registration kits and organize balloting. The current Assembly's mandate expires in October, and we believe that September represents a hard deadline. End Comment. DUNN