POLITICAL PARTIES SELF-REGULATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001081

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR
S/CRS
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA)
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM HA
SUBJECT: POLITICAL PARTIES SELF-REGULATE

REF: PORT AU PRINCE 723

PORT AU PR 00001081 001.2 OF 002



1. (U) Summary: The Assembly of Haitian Political Parties
(Convention des Partis Politiques Haitiens, or CPPH, in
French) on May 31 and June 1 held a colloquium on political
parties and construction of a democracy. The main focus of
the workshop was a debate over a proposed law governing
political party activities and funding. The minister of
justice expressed strong support for the law. The debate
itself highlighted the difficulty of reaching consensus, with
controversy arising over financing of and jurisdiction over
political parties. Nevertheless, the willingness of parties
to gather together and negotiate is indicative of a new, less
contentious approach to Haitian politics. End summary.


2. (U) Twelve parties joined together to form the CPPH in
September 2005 in a successful effort to ensure adherence to
democratic norms and principles in advance of the national
elections. Victor Benoit, CPPH president and leader of
Fusion, stated that the group is intended to serve as a forum
for debate between ideologically different political parties.
He stated that the new proposed law will put in place the
institutional mechanisms necessary to create a new political
culture in Haiti. Fusion spokesperson Micha Gaillard told
Poloff that the CPPH is not intended to create a unified
political platform among its members, but rather to foster
good relations and reduce hostilities between them.


3. (U) The CPPH presented at the colloquium a proposed law
that builds off the 1987 Haitian constitution, the 2005
electoral decrees, and the 1985 and 1986 decrees on political
parties. The comprehensive law deals with: formation,
registration and recognition of parties; public, private and
campaign financing; budget transparency; campaign activities;
dissolution of political parties; and media access. The
proposal also puts in place sanctions for violation of these
precepts. Gaillard noted to Poloff after the colloquium that
the debate was very fruitful and gave parties a chance to
voice their concerns. The biggest disagreements concerning
the proposed law arose over how public campaign financing
should be divided among the parties, and over which
institution should have authority over political parties.
Some participants preferred that a Permanent Electoral
Council have complete jurisdiction, while others preferred
that power rest with the justice ministry. Still others
would like to see a combination of the two in order to
nullify any political bias on the part of either institution.
(Note: As drafted, the law gives most authority to the
Permanent Electoral Council. End note.) Gaillard noted that
the CPPH leadership will now deliberate the suggested
changes.


4. (U) Minister of Justice Rene Magloire, speaking in place
of President Preval, gave a lackluster speech about the
importance the government attaches to the proposed
legislation. He promised that the ministry, which has
jurisdiction over political party regulations, welcomes the
proposal and is prepared to work with all parties to create a
final document that the government will then present to the
parliament. (Note: Prime Minister Jacques Edouard Alexis
attended the beginning of the workshop but did not give a
speech. End note.) Additionally, President of the Senate
Joseph Lambert (Lespwa) stated that the parliament takes
petitions from political parties very seriously and promised
to work diligently on their proposed legislation.


5. (U) Most parties were represented by their 2006
presidential candidates. One notable exception was Fanmi
Lavalas (FL),represented at the head table by Senator Rudy
Herivaux (see reftel for bio information). Senator Herivaux
told Poloff that he is now the leader of FL in the absence of
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and noted that he had personally led
the party back from the precipice and convinced them to field
candidates in the 2006 national elections. All other
potential leaders are either in prison or in exile, he said.
Herivaux insisted that there is no rivalry for leadership of
FL, a point that a Lavalas partisan participating in the
conversation attempted to discredit by pointing to a whole
table of dedicated Lavalasians who felt no loyalty to
Herivaux.

PORT AU PR 00001081 002.2 OF 002




6. (U) Comment: Haitian political parties are traditionally
formed around a single personality with the sole objective of
getting him or her into office. The CPPH has as one of its
goals the ''normalization'' of Haitian politics, meaning
putting an end to the cycle of political crises that have
slowed the country's socioeconomic development. The amount
of high-level participation in the CPPH colloquium lends
credibility to their efforts. The proposed legislation aims
to strengthen the structure and organizational discipline of
political parties, two traits that are notably absent from
most existing parties. However, the law relies heavily on
the yet-to-be-formed Permanent Electoral Counsel,
highlighting once again the importance of the CEP to Haiti's
democratic process.
TIGHE