TOGO ELECTION UPDATE: SOFTWARE PROBLEMS JEOPARDIZE

C O N F I D E N T I A L LOME 000571

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

PARIS FOR D'ELIA AND KANEDA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/03/2014
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PREL KDEM TO
SUBJECT: TOGO ELECTION UPDATE: SOFTWARE PROBLEMS JEOPARDIZE
VOTER REGISTRATION; ELECTORAL PROCESS TAKES A POLITICAL TURN

REF: LOME 0553

Classified By: Ambassador David B. Dunn, Reasons 1.4 B and D.


1. (C) Summary. The opening round of voter registration for
Togo's upcoming legislative elections - the centerpiece of
the ongoing reform and reconciliation process -- have
revealed a number of problems related to the registration
software. Of particular concern to the National Independent
Electoral Commission (CENI) and UN elections experts is the
database that will generate a new national voter list. The UN
experts (protect) attribute the problems to the Belgian
company selected to develop the software for the
registration. In a related development, CENI granted a
three-day extension for voter registration in Lome and
surrounding areas due to numerous problems that plagued voter
registration in the heavily populated coastal region (ref). A
march organized by opposition elements is scheduled for
August 4 to protest shortcomings in the registration process.
The demonstration could portend an end to the consensus among
the major political parties that has guided the reform
process. End Summary.


2. (U) On July 27, the heads of the five Lome-based missions
(European Union, UNDP, France, Germany, U.S.) participating
in the donor basket that supports the Togolese election
process -- the PEACE project, toured CENI's newly-opened data
processing center along with the president and vice president
of CENI. Following the tour, the entire group met privately
with Dunia Ramazani, the voter registration and IT expert on
the PEACE technical team. Ramazani, a Canadian national of
Congolese origin, is employed by UNDP.


3. (C) Ramazani delivered a litany of complaints about the
performance of Zetes, the Belgian IT software development
company hired by the GOT for the registration process. The
choice of Zetes was based in part on the company's successful
perfomance in last year's presidential election in the
Democratic Republic of Congo. Earlier problems with Zetes in
the design of the voter ID software caused numerous delays in
voter registration, which in turn caused the election itself
to be postponed from June 24 to August 5 and now indefinitely
pending satisfactory progress on the creation of a voter
list. Ramazani alleged that Zetes is no longer the company
that managed the successful registration process in the DRC
elections. He said that a bitter internal dispute over the
sharing of profits from the DRC contract has caused Zetes to
split, with most of the technical experts leaving to form
another company.


4. (SBU) The evening of July 30, PEACE project donors met
with senior CENI officials and representatives of Zetes in an
attempt to clear the air. Though defensive, the Zetes reps
agreed to follow up with CENI and the PEACE team to try and
resolve the underlying problems. The entire group met again
on August 2 at the CENI data processing center.


5. (C) Based on the arguments of the two sides during the
meeting and information gathered in earlier briefings, The
problem boils down to a lack of confidence on the part of
CENI (and its UN advisors) in Zetes' ability to deliver
robust voter list software that will withstand the scrutiny
of international observers and opposition members as regards
anti-fraud safeguards. This lack of confidence is based on
two factors - problems associated with the development of the
voter ID software by Zetes earlier this year and the
unwillingness and/or inability of Zetes to share the codes
for the software being developed that would allow CENI to
analyze for itself the quality of the safeguards. The voter
ID software developed by Zetes was eventually perfected, but
not until after a long, iterative process involving Zetes and
CENI. Based on that experience, CENI is reluctant to
recommend an election date to the government without a firm
idea of whether and when a satisfactory voter list can be
produced.


6. (SBU) The meeting produced a pledge by Zetes to sit down
with CENI and the PEACE technical team and share additional
technical information. Although the meeting and pledge
represented a step forward, it was unclear to the heads of
mission present whether this would be sufficient to resolve
the underlying problem and break the impasse. CENI is to

report back to the donors on August 6.


7. (U) The three day extension of voter registration in Lome
and surrounding areas ended on August 1 and was extended to
the morning of August 3 for anyone who had missed the
opportunity. The extension, granted because logistical
problems in Lome had prevented many voters from meeting the
scheduled July 29 deadline (ref),has been controversial.
Some supporters of the traditional opposition, mainly from
the UFC, have argued that it should have been longer, while
some in the RPT have argued that it should not have occurred
at all. Registration in the rest of the country that took
part in round one (Zone A) was uneventful and closed as
scheduled on July 29. Registration in the second half of the
country, Zone B, is scheduled to begin on Monday, August 6,
and run for two weeks.


8. (C) The UFC and several smaller associated parties have
scheduled a march on August 4 that coincides with a visit to
Togo by UFC president Gilchrist Olympio. A major theme of the
march is the flawed CENI-organized registration process,
which is labeled a "masquerade" in fliers advertising the
event -- even though the UFC is a member of CENI. Partially
in response, the prime minister's office issued a communique
on August 3 noting that a tripartite meeting of the
government, CENI (including a UFC representative),and the
donors had expressed satisfaction with the conclusion of the
registration in Zone A. Rumors are circulating in Lome on
August 3 that the RPT may be planning a
counter-demonstration, also on August 4, that would cross
paths with the UFC march.


8. (C) Comment. Although the registration process has been
flawed, CENI and the GOT were able to take and publicize
corrective actions sufficiently to earn a passing grade for
the first round, during which more than half of the
electorate were registered. Unresolved issues involving
software for the voter list are more serious and will require
a meeting of the minds between CENI and its Belgian supplier
that has eluded the two parties up to now. More worrisome
still is the politicization of the electoral process, in the
form of the demonstration and possible counter-demonstration
scheduled for this weekend. A violent outcome to the
demonstration(s) would be a harsh blow to a reform process
that has been able to weather a number of lesser storms thus
far, as would further politicization of the process leading
to repudiation and/or withdrawal by the UFC. End Comment.

DUNN