TURKMENISTAN: LEBAP PROVINCIAL OFFICIALS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001601 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN; DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: LEBAP PROVINCIAL OFFICIALS DEMONSTRATE THEIR READINESS FOR MEJLIS ELECTIONS ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Poloff spent December 8 in the northern city of Turkmenabat to see how preparations were coming regarding the December 14 Mejlis elections. Provincial officials organized meetings with a deputy hakim (governor), the provincial election commission, three polling stations, two district election commissions, the three candidates for one constituent district, and a meeting between the three candidates and a group of voters. All parties expressed their readiness for the impending elections, confidence that logistics and procedures within polling stations will be undertaken without a hitch. Although candidates could elucidate on some of the priorities of their future work as potential deputies, none could find words to express why a voter should vote for one of them in particular. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (SBU) Poloff met first with Lebap Deputy Governor Tumar Muhamedova, who talked about the ongoing development of Turkmenbat's infrastructure. A range of construction projects are now planned or underway in the city and nearby districts, and are helping to employ many residents, including a 10,000 seat stadium, a hippodrome, a textile factory, a conference center, and sports complex. She noted that the upcoming election represents a big change for Lebap, in that the province will be represented by 27 deputies (vice 10 deputies). Lebap deputies, however, will be focused on the legislative work of the country, rather than raising issues of specific concern to Lebap residents. ¶4. (SBU) Provincial election commission members said that the task of creating more election districts in order to accommodate the larger representation in the Mejlis was left to them. They said that some of their districts were divided to create new districts, but could not clearly explain how the new constituencies were created. One commission member, responding to a question about candidate nomination and registration, said that registration hinges only upon receiving a sufficient number of votes from the nominating group, and little else. Very few achieve nomination without successful registration. ¶5. (SBU) The polling stations were in two of Lebap's constituent districts -- one in the city of Turkmenabat, the 
other two south and east, near the town of Sakar. Election officials at the polling station in Turkmenabat said they were expecting three observers at their site. One observer from the CIS and two observers from the OSCE would monitor their location's activities on the day of the elections. ¶6. (SBU) Sakar is about 20-25 miles from Turkmenabat, but surprisingly, the sites of the polling stations had no plumbing or running water. Election commissioners at each location were anxious to host poloff's visit and had tables of hot food, tea, and vodka waiting. Each had information on the candidates displayed in Turkmen, and brief information regarding the new method for marking ballots positively (rather than crossing out the candidates you do not want),so that voters would understand the change. In only one polling station did poloff witness commission subordinates working. Three young women were hard at work filling in invitations that will be delivered in person to each registered voter. They were tasked with ensuring that the invitations, which provide information on the voter's polling station location, its hours of operation, and his personal registration number that will be needed to vote on Sunday. ¶7. (SBU) Two or three booths, strung with ornate green curtains, were standing by. Each booth was fitted with a small table for writing on the ballot, and a new oil lantern to provide light. Clear lucite ballot boxes were present -- smaller ones to take to voters who cannot come to the polls and larger ones for the station. All the ballot boxes were ASHGABAT 00001601 002 OF 002 of slightly different construct or design, and only one had some kind of official seal on it. At least one was constructed by means of screws, which would have to be removed to access the box's contents. Others had hinged doors on top. ¶8. (SBU) None of the election commissions knew of any candidates that had been nominated by an independent citizen's group, although some are nominated by gengeshes, or town councils. The candidates running in the two constituencies visited had been nominated by the Womens' Union, a professional union, the Democratic Party, or a local gengesh. They were all government employees, working for the education ministry, agriculture ministry, a state enterprise, or the Democratic Party. ¶9. (SBU) Poloff met with the three candidates running in the 84th constituent district. The first, Bayramgeldi Ovezov, a veterinarian, expressed his interest in focusing attention on the need for housing in the province, and improving the well-being of residents here, to include increasing the profits on cotton for residents who grow and harvest it. The second, Amangeldi Mamedov, a Democratic Party functionary in a rural area, stated his readiness to help advance President Berdimuhamedov's foreign and domestic policy goals and the reform agenda. The third, Jumadurdy Jumayev, a high school principal in a rural area, said very little, but commented on the need to support local agriculture and open more factories that process agricultural output. When asked about what they are saying to voters to encourage them to vote for one candidate over the others, all three candidates were silent. Reminded that campaigning can involve both commenting on one's own strengths and skills as well as citing opponents' potential deficiencies, as most observers were able to see in the U.S. election, the candidates could not comment on specific reasons why voters should prefer them. ¶10. (SBU) The final event of the day was a meeting the governor's office had organized between the candidates and their advocates (proxies) and a group of some 40 voters at a cotton processing factory in Sakar. First, the biographies of the three candidates were read to those attending. Then, in turn, an advocate or proxy for the candidate stood up and spoke to the crowd, in Turkmen, underscoring the candidate's background and how it would uniquely serve him in the Mejlis. Then, the candidate had a chance to speak to the crowd, noting the main points of his platform, such as the development of infrastructure, sports programs for youth, support of agriculture, and the reform agenda. The final portion of the program allowed the crowd to pose several questions to the candidates, but lasted only a few minutes. (NOTE: Poloff had to sit for tea and run for a plane, so missed the questions, but observed that the meeting broke up within five minutes of her departure. END NOTE.) ¶11. (SBU) COMMENT: All the election officials poloff met expressed their complete readiness for the upcoming elections, and sites were clearly ready to go. If logistics and planning and readiness to follow appropriate, internationally-acknowledged procedures were the only measure of an election's conduct, it would appear that Lebap election officials would receive high marks for their performance before and during the course of the elections. However, it will take more changes before elections here can be described as fully free and fair. END COMMENT. MILES