HAITIAN ELECTIONS GOING NOWHERE FAST

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 001344

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/08/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM HA
SUBJECT: HAITIAN ELECTIONS GOING NOWHERE FAST

REF: A. PORT AU PRINCE 1240

B. PORT AU PRINCE 1134

C. PORT AU PRINCE 1329

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Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Thomas C. Tighe for reasons 1.4 (b) an
d (d).


1. (C) Summary: While the Core Group ambassadors are
generally supportive of pressuring the GoH to move forward
with indirect and senatorial elections, we have not yet
presented a united message, in writing, to President Preval.
In conversations with Core Group ambassadors, Preval has
shown no enthusiasm for elections. Parliamentarians have
joined the push, signing an accord demanding that the
government publish the results of the December 2006 and April
2007 local elections, and that the GoH extend the mandate of
the current provisional electoral council (CEP) to include
the fall senatorial elections. Meanwhile, the provisional
CEP continues reporting minor progress to donors and the
Haitian community, but cannot boast of any significant
achievements. Next steps are presenting the non-paper to
Preval and advocating for a strong director general of the
CEP. End summary.

International Community Lethargic
--------------


2. (C) Following the July 5 Core Group meeting in which
representatives from the major donors agreed to push Preval
on elections (ref A),the Embassy drafted a non-paper to
present to Preval describing our position. MINUSTAH
elections staff made edits to the draft, and UN SRSG Mulet
distributed the non-paper to the other Core Group members for
their comments and approval. The Ambassador of Argentina was
the only Core Group member to comment on the draft, arguing
that the paper should not place equal importance on the
indirect elections and the senatorial elections because the
senatorial elections are more crucial to Haiti's democracy.
(Note: This runs contrary to our position that the indirect
elections are of equal importance, and even less likely to
happen given Preval's resistance to decentralization of the
Haitian state. End note.) We are continuing to push Mulet
to place a deadline on comments so we can present a final
non-paper to Preval.


3. (C) Before presenting the non-paper, Canadian Ambassador
Claude Boucher argued for the necessity of first broaching
the subject of elections with Preval in person. Boucher told
Ambassador Sanderson that he asked Preval in July what his
plans were for elections, and Preval responded that elections
are not really of interest to him. SRSG Mulet told
Ambassador Sanderson that he also raised elections with
Preval, and got a similar response.

Preval Apathetic
--------------


4. (C) President Preval told Ambassador Sanderson on July 31
that Haiti must have indirect elections. The Ambassador
asked if Preval intends to hold elections for the third of
the senators whose terms expire in January 2008. He said
yes, but when pressed for a timeline, he responded, ''We'll
see.'' Preval said he does not understand why the
international community is advocating a permanent CEP when
the current one can run the upcoming senatorial elections.
(Note: The Embassy of Canada is particularly adamant that the
current CEP is incapable of running the senatorial elections.
End note.) The Ambassador noted that we have misgivings
about the current director general's ability to carry out the
senatorial elections, and Preval acknowledged that he is
aware of our concerns. However, he said he cannot appoint a
new director general of the CEP. When the Ambassador pointed
out that such an appointment is within his power, he
shrugged.

CEP Director General Defensive
--------------


5. (SBU) Interim director general of the CEP Francois Benoit
presented to Haiti's major donors on July 18 his perspective

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on the CEP, the indirect elections and the senatorial
elections. Benoit argued that public perception that the CEP
is ineffectual is misguided, and listed a number of
activities the CEP has undertaken in the last few months,
beginning with drafting a law governing the indirect
elections (ref B). He said the GoH was slow to react to the
law, and then finally in early July formed a committee to
study it. (Note: Forming a study committee is viewed as a
stalling tactic in Haiti. End note.) In the interim, the
CEP has been ''selling'' the legislation to different members
of parliament and explaining it to the public via the press,
according to Benoit. Benoit's presentation was accusatory,
calling doubts about the CEP ''unfounded'' propaganda
disseminated by those who would like control over the CEP.
Benoit blamed the Ministry of Finance and UNDP for delays in
financing electoral operations, and said that the executive
branch is slowing the entire process with its lack of
enthusiasm.


6. (SBU) In the meantime, according to Benoit, the director
general's office is moving ahead with plans for the
senatorial elections, with a stated emphasis on
simplification of the process and reduction of costs. He
estimated the total cost at USD 6,250,000 and said the
execution of the process will take 140 to 150 days, or nearly
five months. Francois Montour, Haiti director for the
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA),responded
that it is out of the question for the international
community to pay 100 percent of the bill for the senatorial
elections. MINUSTAH elections unit director Marc Plum added
that the international community should force the GoH to
dispense some of its own funds, including those left over
from previous elections. (Note: The GoH does have funds
designated for elections, and post agrees new donor money
should be used to supplement, not replace, those funds. End
note.)

Parliament Demands Elections
--------------


7. (U) Six senators and 16 deputies, led by Senator Rudolph
Boulos, signed a resolution on July 28 calling for the
immediate publication of the local election results for the
county councils (ASECs) and town delegates. (Note: The
President received the results signed by the CEP and the
Prime Minster on July 21, but the palace had not published
the official record as of August 8. End note.) The
resolution also demanded publication of a decree setting the
procedure needed to complete the electoral process initiated
in 2005; a new law extending the mandate of the current CEP
to encompass the 2007 senatorial elections; and an
information campaign for elected representatives and citizens
about the procedures of indirect elections. The resolution
states that if the GoH does not respond to these demands by
the end of August, the parliament will summon the Prime
Minister and the Minister of the Interior to demand an
explanation. (Note: Senator Boulos is an emerging leader in
the senate and various members of the international community
have noted to Poloff his growing influence over his
colleagues. Regarded as sensible, Boulos publicly
disapproved of the Chamber of Deputies recent vote of no
confidence in the Minister of Culture (ref C). He said the
vote will create friction between the executive and the
legislative to the detriment of the country. End note.)


8. (C) Comment: The international community is losing
patience with Preval's obvious disinterest in moving
elections forward. We will continue with plans to present
our concerns in writing via the Core Group non-paper, with
the expectation that the document, followed by direct
meetings with Core Group ambassadors, will inspire Preval to
action. According to CEP and MINUSTAH timelines,
preparations for the senatorial elections must begin
immediately if there is any hope of inaugurating new senators
in January 2008 as required by the Haitian Constitution.
Given these time constraints, it appears unlikely that the
GoH will install a permanent CEP with enough time to prepare
senatorial elections. Regardless of whether the provisional
CEP oversees senatorial and indirect elections, we will
continue to urge Preval to appoint a strong director general

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to ensure the successful and timely execution of those
elections.
TIGHE