CHAD: European Commisssion support for

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NDJAMENA 000145

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE, SIPDIS

LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAID PHUM PGOV KDEM CD
SUBJECT: CHAD: European Commisssion support for
Chadian political party capacity building



1. (SBU) Summary: The European Commission (EC) seeks to
develop a program to support the capacity of Chadian
political parties to engage in a national political
dialogue in the near term, and to be able to compete
responsibly in an open democratic process over the
longer term. Chad's current political situation is
marked by an absence of viable democratic institutions,
growing political opposition (both armed and pacific),
defections from the government to rebel movements and a
boycott of the political process by the peaceful
political opposition. An EC-funded democratization
consultant has conducted a preliminary evaluation of
Chad's political system that he hopes will lead to a
capacity-building program to include preparation of a
draft training manual, pilot testing of the manual and
subsequent preparation of a trainer's training manual.
End Summary


2. (SBU) The EC Delegation held two meetings earlier
this month for a small group of representatives of
embassies and international organizations concerned
with Chadian democratization to discuss its ongoing
effort to develop a political party capacity building
project for Chad. Chaired by the EC head of
delegation, the meetings included an EC-funded
democratization consultant and representatives of UNDP
and the French and U.S. embassies. The EC does not seek
additional funding for this planned activity, but does
welcome USG interest in and encouragement of the
effort.

EC Objectives in Face of Chad's Political Reality
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3. The EC-funded consultant described Chad's political
reality as one of a centralized undemocratic system
marked by popular distrust and a widespread perception
of fraud and fixed elections. The EC seeks to develop
a program to support the capacity of Chadian political
parties to engage in a national political dialogue in
the near term, and to be able to compete responsibly in
an open democratic process over the longer term. Were
the political system to open up tomorrow, like the
citizens of the former Yugoslavia and many Eastern Bloc
countries, Chadian political parties and their leaders
would be ill prepared to play the democratic game.
Laying the groundwork today by building democratic
political capacity is seen by the EC as an investment
in a future with a five-year to ten-year time horizon.
After 42 years of armed rebellion, there is the hope
that even the government realizes that some political
opening is needed.

Feasibility of Capacity-building Project
--------------


4. (SBU) At this stage, the feasibility of a political
capacity building project is still under study. The
terms of reference note that due largely to the absence
of viable democratic institutions, actors and
mechanisms, Chad's current political situation is
marked by growing political opposition (both armed and
pacific),defections from the government to rebel
movements and a boycott of the political process by the
peaceful political opposition.


5. (SBU) The consultant's preliminary assessment of
Chad's political system concluded that there was only
one national party in scope and structure, the MPS
(Movement Patriotique pour le Salut). Among the 78
other registered parties (the expert said that he had
actually counted 127),only ten are represented in the
National Assembly. He noted that some of these ten
ostensibly independent opposition parties are subject
to substantial MPS influence. Remaining parties
largely lack the following, funding and/or the
ideological (as opposed to ethnic) definition required
to be taken seriously, even were the system more open.


6. (SBU) The expert's review of deficiencies in the
existing political system were numerous. He cited the
absence of regulation, including party rights and
responsibilities, and public funding for political
parties or of election campaigns. He noted that the
absence of publicly-financed election campaigns limits
the effective ability to compete in elections to a
handful of parties and that, while parties by law are
to be given equitable access to the media during
political campaigns, there are no legal provisions for
enforcement. He also identified voter registration

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deficiencies, the inaccuracy of existing voter lists
for parliamentary and national elections and the lack
of objectivity of the electoral commission as basic
structural deficiencies.


7. (SBU) The EC expert is in the process of
identifying and contracting a qualified Chadian
consulting firm to assist him in evaluating the
organization, internal procedures, popular support base
and the human and financial resources of Chadian
political parties. Based on findings, the expert
envisages designing a capacity-building project to
include preparation of a draft training manual, the
pilot testing of the manual and subsequent preparation
of a trainer's training manual.


8. (SBU) Comment: The EC effort to develop a political
party capacity-building project is consistent with the
"Governing Justly and Democratically" foreign policy
objective identified as a top priority in the Mission
Program Plan (MPP) as well as in Embassy's FY 2007
Budget Narrative Justification. It is also consistent
with the Department's view of how foreign assistance
efforts in developing countries, such as Chad, should
be focused. Given the absence of USG funding available
for this MPP goal, Embassy believes EC effort merits
our strong encouragement. End comment.
Wall