CEC CHAIRMAN BRUSHES OFF KEY PARTS OF U.S.

C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 001438

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/CARC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2017
TAGS: PGOV EAID PREL PHUM KDEM AM
SUBJECT: CEC CHAIRMAN BRUSHES OFF KEY PARTS OF U.S.
ELECTION ASSISTANCE


Classified By: CDA Joseph Pennington, reasons 1.4 (b,d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: CDA, accompanied by AIDoff and Polchief,
called on Central Election Commission Chairman Garegin
Azaryan in a bid to persuade Azaryan not to refuse key
elements of USAID implementer IFES' election assistance
program. Azaryan was stubborn, smug, and unmoved. He
suggested, speciously, that such problems as there had been
during the May election, with vote tabulation and reporting,
can be blamed on poor IFES training. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) Azaryan had earlier sent a letter to IFES staff, which
he then followed up with a scathingly insulting in-person
tirade against two of IFES' top local staff, in which he
informed IFES that its help in conducting pollworker training
would not be necessary. The CEC had chosen instead to
produce, with OSCE help, a training video to show the
election workers. That, he insisted, would be sufficient.


3. (C) CDA reinforced IFES' earlier concerns that the
training video -- though a fine product -- had not been
designed as a complete stand-alone training program, but
simply as one component of what was envisioned to be a larger
program. Meanwhile, Azaryan's plan to conduct the
video-based training in much-larger groups (filling
auditoriums, as opposed to IFES' approach to train small
groups of about 25 at a time),would make the training far
less interactive, and would offer much less chance for the
election workers to ask questions of trainers, and for
trainers to present possible election-day scenarios. Azaryan
dismissed this concern, saying his method would ensure
standardization and enable CEC commissioners or professional
staff to attend each and every training session to verify
that material was conveyed accurately. He said he did not
have staff resources to send someone to hundreds of
small-group sessions. Azaryan said that the CEC would not
help IFES to conduct its training, but IFES might be able to
work through the various political parties that would
nominate the election workers if it felt that to be useful.
Alternatively, Azaryan would provide the list of some 50,000
persons who were certified as pollworkers, and IFES was free
to try to train them all.


4. (C) Azaryan also complained that IFES' proposed training
manual seemed unnecessary and redundant, as he had an
existing manual provided by OSCE before the parliamentary
election, which could simply be updated with minimal effort.
We reminded that the two manuals were quite different in
their approach, organization, and content, with the OSCE
effort more of a technical reference work on law and
regulation, while the IFES manual was intended more as a
simple and user-friendly, step by step guide on what the
pollworkers should do at each stage. Azaryan was again
dismissive, but did not refuse outright to cooperate on this.


5. (C) COMMENT: Azaryan's attitude is rather puzzling; past
cooperation has had its frictions, but he has been willing to
resolve differences when pressed. It may be simply a matter
of Azaryan's pique against the IFES chief of party, whom
Azaryan believes crossed him during an August special
election in Talin district. IFES own staff believe that the
problem is corruption, saying that the CEC's legal department
chief has tried to demand a 100 Euro payment for the service
of reviewing IFES texts for technical accuracy, which IFES
has refused to pay. It may be that the CEC is feeling its
oats after getting high marks for the parliamentary election,
and the petty and prideful Azaryan is now disinclined to
defer to international experts. Whatever is behind it, post
and IFES are agreed that we should not attempt to conduct any
pollworker training without the explicit blessing and support
of the CEC. Failing a change of heart from the CEC, we are
preparing to cancel that part of the program. END COMMENT.
PENNINGTON