VOTER REGISTRATION UP AND RUNNING - SORT OF

UNCLAS CONAKRY 000485

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM ASEC GV
SUBJECT: VOTER REGISTRATION UP AND RUNNING - SORT OF


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Although the GoG finally launched its
national voter registration campaign on August 28 as the
Prime Minister symbolically registered to vote on national
television, there are still a number of issues to be resolved
before the campaign can truly get underway. The GoG's
failure to follow through on its electoral commitments and
responsibilities created some last minute roadblocks. A few
of these issues have been resolved and the UNDP and the EU
are working with the GoG to address the remaining challenges
so that the voter registration campaign can be launched in
truth. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) Guinea finally launched its national voter
registration campaign on August 28 after months of delays.
Prime Minister Souare, the Minister of Territorial
Administration and Political Affairs (MATAP),and the
President of the National Independent Electoral Commission
(CENI) were the first to be registered, a process that was
videotaped and broadcast on the national news network. The
PM encouraged the population to register so that they can
vote in upcoming elections.


3. (SBU) Despite the fanfare, the registration launch was
largely symbolic since a number of logistical problems
continue to challenge the project. A focus group meeting the
day before the launch (which includes participants from the
UNDP, the EU, the US Embassy, and USAID contractors)
generated a heated debate between the EU and the UNDP about
whether to even proceed with a symbolic launch given that so
many issues remain unresolved.


4. (SBU) For starters, the actual voter registration kits
had not yet been sent out into the interior of the country
while one of the 14 required registration forms had not yet
left the printer. MATAP had not released an approved list of
computer operators, which means that these individuals had
not received per diem and could not travel to the
registration sites. (MATAP had been asked to provide a new
list because the first list was reportedly unacceptable due
to unexplained fraud.) While 10,500 of the 15,000 voter
registrars have been trained, the political parties are
wanting to add more names, which has slowed down the process
because it would be difficult to do more training, but the
parties' requests have to be handled carefully in order to
avoid potential contention. Finally, there is a funding gap
of $309,000 that is needed to cover the salaries of computer
operators and technical staff.


5. (SBU) By late in the day of the registration launch, at
least one of the issues had been resolved. The first trucks
finally left Conakry for the interior, carrying computer
equipment and the required forms. The Minister of MATAP
personally assisted with the departure. The GoG issued a
communique stating that the voter registration project has
been officially launched, but that the actual operation will
start within a few days.

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COMMENT
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6. (SBU) Although the donor community has shouldered much of
the blame for delays in the getting the voter registration
process off the ground, the GoG is probably deserves equally
guilty. Many of the remaining logistical problems are due to
a lack of movement on the part of the GoG. For example, a
seemingly minor issue of paying per diem to local registrars
(in the amount of about $1000 total) became a major roadblock
when the GoG failed to come up with the cash. The EU finally
told the UNDP to just pay the bill out of the project's
budget line item for unanticipated expenses, in order to be
able to even hold the symbolic registration. MATAP's lack of
planning and coordination raises concerns about the GoG's
political will and technical capacity to hold transparent,
credible elections. The good news is that the registration
process is finally underway, publicly anyway, and should be
in truth within the next few weeks. END COMMENT.
BROKENSHIRE