MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES DIVIDED ON ELECTIONS,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 001682 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR S/CRS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM HA SUBJECT: MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES DIVIDED ON ELECTIONS, CONSTITUTION REF: A. PORT AU PRINCE 1649 ¶B. PORT AU PRINCE 1593 PORT AU PR 00001682 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified -- please protect accordingly. ¶2. (SBU) Summary: Opposition to President Preval's plan to reconstitute the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) is emerging. Political parties and civil society groups are also commenting on the President's proposals to delay elections and amend the Constitution. In the face of this opposition, Preval denied there has been a decision to disband the CEP, and promised he will continue broad consultations with political parties and other sectors. Among the major political parties, Fusion and OPL are resisting the President's proposals -- although they say they will go along reluctantly with reforming the CEP --while Lespwa, Alyans and Union generally support Preval. Secondary political parties, civil society, religious groups and the private sector are beginning to voice public criticism of the Presidential consultations on the CEP. There is still no official GoH word on reconstituting the CEP or on Senate elections. End summary. Tempered Opposition from Fusion, OPL -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Fusion spokesperson Micha Gaillard told Poloff on October 10 that Fusion supports retaining the current CEP, but does not want its opposition to the President to cause further delays of senatorial elections. Fusion believes that if Preval decides to form a new CEP, its mandate should include indirect elections in addition to the senatorial elections. Fusion staunchly supports holding indirect elections so the decentralization process can be completed, a step Gaillard said Preval sees as pointless since he plans to change that part of the Constitution anyway. Fusion agrees that although the Constitution is a source of many problems for Haiti, it should be amended only according to the constitutional procedure outlined in Title XIII of the 1987 Constitution. ¶4. (SBU) OPL (Struggling Peoples' Party) Secretary General Edgard Leblanc Fils told Poloffs October 10 that the October 9 meeting with Preval was inconclusive, and that Minister of �00A;Parliamentary Affairs Joseph Jasmin's October 10 public statement claiming a decision had been reached to dissolve the CEP (ref A) was inaccurate. (Note: Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis stated on October 12, ''No official decision has been made on the issue.'' The Secretary General of the Presidency also on October 12 announced that consultations were ongoing. End note.) OPL's position is that elections are the most important goal; the particular lineup of CEP counselors is secondary. They are concerned that at this point Senate elections will not take place on time, and that the GoH does not want to proceed with indirect elections. OPL wants any new CEP mandate to include both senatorial and indirect elections. Leblanc echoed a suspicion voiced by many CEP members (septel) that the delay in the Senate elections is part of an Executive scheme to declare the Senate dysfunctional when the new senators do not take their seats on the second Monday in January. However, he also said Preval assured the party leaders that Haiti would have elections for one-third of the Senate but that would be the last election until the Constitution is changed. Leblanc speculated that Senate elections would not be held until at least March 2008, after the February Carnival celebrations had passed. He adamantly insisted the GoH cannot justifiably amend the Constitution outside of the modalities provided therein. OPL disputes the oft-repeated claim that this amendment process is too long. Leblanc concluded by saying that Haiti needs a national debate over what amendments to the Constitution are needed. Lespwa, Alyans and Union Support Preval -------------- ¶5. (U) Lespwa continues to support preval's public position PORT AU PR 00001682 002.2 OF 003 on elections and the Constitution, hewing to the line taken by Lespwa Steering Committee chair Anes Lubin in a September 26 conversation with Poloffs: the CEP lacks a mandate for senatorial elections, and certain counselors are corrupt. Senate elections are important, but Haiti needs a new CEP to ensure legitimacy. In addition, Lespwa thinks the 1987 Constitution is problematic and the President is completely justified in his desire to change it (ref B). ¶6. (SBU) ''Union'' Party chairman Jean Chavannes Jeune told Poloff on October 9 that Union supports President Preval's position on elections and the Constitution. Jeune called the CEP ''corrupt and incompetent'' and argued that the current counselors are not fit to manage the next senatorial elections. Jeune did say that Union supports elections sometime in 2008, under a new provisional CEP. Jeune predicted that the new senators would take office in March or April 2008. Jeune also stated that the 1987 Constitution poses major problems and needs to be amended through the procedure provided in the Constitution itself, or replaced via a ''constituent assembly.'' He saw no problem with changing the Constitution through extra-constitutional means, i.e., through a constituent assembly. However, Jeune told the Embassy October 10 that the meeting with the President had agreed only that the CEP must be restructured (ref A). ¶7. (U) Alyans Secretary General Evans Paul announced October 10 that the President and the participating political parties did indeed reach consensus on October 9 around forming a new CEP. However, he said they had not yet agreed on a method for formulating the new council, or on what the mandate of that council should be. According to Paul, the President told party leaders he intended to consult with other sectors before making a final decision. Preval expressed his desire to be in a position to announce the news to the population by October 17. Paul said, ''There is very little chance that this CEP will stay in place,'' but he did not think the President had yet made that decision. Alyans' goal, according to Paul, is to achieve elections as mandated by the Constitution. Because the current CEP is controversial, the best solution is to form a new CEP through a consensus process that "puts everyone at ease around a new provisional electoral council." Secondary Parties, Civil Society, Private Sector Voice Opposition -------------- ¶8. (U) Many smaller political parties and civil society groups have publicly criticized the proceedings. Himmler Rebu, leader of GREH (Grand Union for the Development of Haiti),estimates that the major political parties' acquiescence to preval's plan to dissolve the CEP amounts to ''an act of cowardice and treachery.'' ADEBAH (Democratic Alliance to Build Haiti) leader Rene Julien commented that although he favors disbanding the current CEP, he fears the GoH will not follow through on its assurances to form a new CEP to manage Senate elections. Jean Andre Victor of the Haitian Liberal Party stated, ''We recommend the government allow independent institutions like the CEP to function.'' President of the Haitian Chamber of Commerce Jean Robert Argant said he believes the current CEP is capable of organizing the next elections. Civil Society Initiative Executive Director (and former Group of 184 member) Rosny Desroches called the ''decision'' to dismiss the CEP a violation of the Constitution, and urged the international community to ''fix'' the problem. Additionally, the Protestant Federation, the Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Episcopal Church have all spoken out in favor of keeping the current CEP. (Note: Each of these groups has a representative in the current CEP. End note.) Comment -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Opposition is emerging to GoH plans to reconstitute the CEP, delay elections and ultimately change the Constitution. Preval's hesitancy on the CEP issue shows he is PORT AU PR 00001682 003.2 OF 003 sensitive to domestic criticism of his elections plans, including criticism from social groups outside the narrow political party leadership. Nevertheless, strong support for Preval from Lespwa, Alyans and Union; the readiness of OPL and Fusion to go along with the President in the interest of getting to the Senate elections; combined with a Haitian tradition of strong presidential power, may well tip the balance in favor of the President, at least on the CEP issue. Reforming the Constitution will be more difficult for Preval to manage. SANDERSON