BENIN: GOB RESCHEDULES LOCAL ELECTIONS

UNCLAS COTONOU 000104

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W (DBANKS)
PARIS FOR D'ELIA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL BN
SUBJECT: BENIN: GOB RESCHEDULES LOCAL ELECTIONS

REF: (A) COTONOU 043 (B) 07 COTONOU 817

1.(U)Summary: The Government of Benin postponed by two months the
local elections that were initially scheduled for February 17, 2008
(Ref A). The government's decision to delay the elections until
April 13, 2008 came after long delays in the selection of the
National Independent Electoral Commission, known by its French
acryonym CENA. While the path to elections now appears clear,
members of President Yayi's political movement have challenged the
composition of the CENA's executive board in the Supreme Court. End
Summary.

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Election Delayed and CENA Begins Work
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2.(U) On February 8, 2008 the GOB's Council of Ministers (USG
Cabinet equivalent) decided to delay local elections until April 13
in consideration of the deadline prescribed by the electoral law and
to allow the CENA to complete the preparations for the elections.
According to the electoral law, CENA's members must be named at
least 90 days ahead of the voting and take office no later than 60
days before. The Council of Ministers' decision sought to conform to
this requirement of the electoral law.

3.(U) The CENA's Executive Board met February 6 - 8 to name its
department (province) level representatives, plan its activities
leading up to the election, and draft a budget for submission for
the government's approval. While the CENA did not release the exact
amount of the proposed budget, Codjo Achode, the CENA's
spokesperson, stated that the elections would cost less than past
elections. He underscored that the budget estimate the CENA proposed
for the election is below $20,000,000 (1 Billion FCFA).

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Terms Extended
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5. (U) Deputies of the National Assembly approved a bill to extend
the terms of municipal officials until the new elections on April

13. Such a law is necessary because the terms of current municipal
officials would have expired on March 17 thereby creating a legal
void at the head of the different municipalities.

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Comment
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6. (SBU) Comment: While it now appears, with a functioning CENA and
a realistic date for voting, that the path to elections is clear
another potential obstacle has arisen. According to a trusted
source from the CENA's Permanent Secretariat (SAP/CENA),a
representative of the GOB has challenged, before the Supreme Court,
the composition of CENA's executive board because it lacks a
government representative. This challenge is based on the
composition of former executive boards which have always had a
government representative. According to the same source, while the
challenge may necessitate a change in the CENA's executive board it
should not affect the electoral agenda. The significant, and
continuing delays, in holding what should be fairly simple local
elections point to the GOB's need to reform its electoral system and
create a permanent electoral commission with a fixed budget and well
defined election dates. At present the electoral "wheel" is
re-invented with every election. End Comment.

BROWN