JAMMU AND KASHMIR: ELECTION COMMISSION STILL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 002742 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/17/2018 TAGS: PGOV PTER PHUM PREL KDEM KISL IN SUBJECT: JAMMU AND KASHMIR: ELECTION COMMISSION STILL WEIGHING DECISION REF: A. NEW DELHI 2378 ¶B. NEW DELHI 2289 ¶C. NEW DELHI 2265 ¶D. NEW DELHI 2223 ¶E. NEW DELHI 2146 ¶F. NEW DELHI 2109 ¶G. NEW DELHI 1799 ¶H. NEW DELHI 1684 Classified By: A/Political Counselor Pushpinder Dhillon for Reasons 1.4 (B and D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Several weeks of peace and quiet in Kashmir have reignited discussion of whether or not state assembly elections should be held as scheduled before January 8 or whether they ought to be postponed to some time after spring next year. No decision has been made as of the afternoon of October 17 and signals coming out of the Election Commission and the GOI change from day to day. There are many complicated factors that need to be evaluated in reaching this decision. What can be said with some confidence is that if election are to be held this year, a decision needs to be made soon or approaching winter weather will preclude elections from taking place this year. Debate over the timing of elections reflects the progress the GOI has been able to make in restoring calm and preventing violence in the valley since August when the volatile environment made elections unthinkable. End Summary. Peace and Quiet Rekindle Election Talk -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Several weeks of calm and quite in Jammu and Kashmir have reopened the debate on whether state assembly elections should be held on time this year or postponed to next spring or later. Visits to the state by the Prime Minister on October 11-12 and the Election Commission on October 9-10 and the announcement of opening cross-Line of Control trade on October 21 fueled speculation that the elections would be held before central rule expires on January 9. However, the EC's failure this week to set dates for Jammu and Kashmir along with several states for which it announced assembly elections schedules led many to conclude that polls in Jammu and Kashmir will be postponed. ¶3. (C) The latest word we have as of the afternoon of September 17 is: 1) from GOI Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz, who told Poloff that a decision has been made -- he did not specify by whom -- to hold elections before January 9; and 2) from The Hindu journalist Praveen Swami, who said that the Election Commission will meet on the �00A;evening of October 17 with Chief Secretaries of several states to discuss mobilization of government manpower from these states to Jammu and Kashmir for conducting the elections early. While signs may be pointing today to early elections, we caution that there are many complicated factors at play in the election dates decision and we should not be surprised if the EC decides to defer. The definitive word on the elections can come only form the EC. What can be said with degree of confidence, however, is that the EC must decide soon on whether or not to hold elections early because of the lead time required for campaigning and preparation. Election dates too close to the end of the year become unviable because of severe winter weather in many parts of the state. Election Commission Divided -------------- ¶4. (U) On October 14, the Election Commission (EC) set dates for upcoming assembly elections in several states where they are due but deferred a decision on Jammu and Kashmir elections. Since President's rule in the state expires on January 9, assembly elections have to take place before then or the GOI has to extend central rule in the state and have its decision endorsed by Parliament. ¶5. (U) In skipping a decision on the timing of Jammu and Kashmir elections, Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalswami said: "We are still assessing the situation and will get back to you as soon as we take a decision." The EC had visited Jammu and Kashmir on October 9-10 to evaluate the situation on the ground and to consult with state government officials and security forces. Most observers believed the EC would announce its decision on returning to Delhi from the state. NEW DELHI 00002742 002 OF 003 ¶6. (C) Jammu and Kashmir Congress Party General Secretary and Supreme Court lawyer Ashok Bhan confirmed to Poloff that the EC is split, echoing media reports that Gopalswami wants to delay elections until next spring while the other two Election Commissioners, Navin Chawla and S.Y. Qureshi, favor elections this year. The Hindu correspondent Praveen Swami, who has closely followed Kashmir developments for many years, also told Poloff that the EC is sharply divided, principally between Gopalswami and Chawla who hold strong views on the matter. Prime Minister's Visit and Cross-LOC Trade -------------- ¶7. (C) The Prime Minister made a highly publicized visit to Jammu and Kashmir October 11-12 to inaugurate the first valley's first train service. The Prime Minister also held an all party meeting to discuss the current political environment. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, also on a visit to Srinagar at the same time, met with party officials to exhort them to prepare for elections. There was a sour note, however, during the Prime Minister's visit when he was reportedly forced to cancel a public meeting for fear that he would not be able to draw a sizeable crowd due to separatists' calls to boycott his visit. In a separate confidence building measure, Indian and Pakistan agreed to allow cross-LOC trade of some goods between Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakot. Opening up such trade links was a major demand of protesting Kashmiris this summer. Although the list of goods that will be permitted to be traded is expected to be restrictive, commentators view the deal as a necessary first step to greater volumes of cross-LOC trade. Ministry of External Affairs Deputy Secretary for Pakistan Affairs G. Balasubramanian confirmed to Poloff that India and Pakistan expect cross-LOC trade in Jammu and Kashmir to commence on October 21. The Election Dates Debate -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The arguments for and against early elections are well known and have been subject of debate ever since the unrest began in the state in July. Those who favor early elections argue that the absence of an elected government in the state for such a long period leaves a political vacuum which does not augur well for restoration of peace and normalcy based on democratic governance. They also believe that failure to conduct elections on schedule will be seen by the jihadis as victory in their battle against the Indian state. Proponents of early elections agree that the political environment is complex but argue that today's complexities will not disappear if the elections were delayed. ¶9. (SBU) Those who support a delay in elections believe that campaigning and polls will provide another pretext for the separatists to continue to mobilize the population against the GOI. These protests also provide a ready forum for hardline, uncompromising separatists such as Syed Ali Gilani to continue their leadership of the movement. They also believe that a low turnout will be politically risky for the Indian government which has used restoration of democratic norms as a key yardstick measuring progress in the valley. Low turnout would raise questions about the legitimacy of Indian rule in Kashmir. Others point out that state assembly election should be held at the same time as parliamentary elections to avoid making the massive preparations and security roll-out needed for any election in the state twice within a few months. The Parties -------------- ¶10. (C) The People's Democratic Party, one of the two mainstream Kashmiri political parties, is firmly opposed to holding elections in the state this year. Party President Mehbooba Mufti told Poloff that the political environment needs some space to heal from the tension and unrest of the past summer. She said that the GOI must reach out with reconciliatory gestures and confidence building measures in order to establish an environment conducive for holding elections. Her party declared victory and said its stance was vindicated when the EC failed on Octoder 14 to set dates for Jammu and Kashmir polls, interpreting this as a signal that the EC had decided to delay the election. The NEW DELHI 00002742 003 OF 003 reluctance of the PDP to go the polls at this time is understandable. The party has been thoroughly discredited in the valley and in the Jammu region for leading the opposition to the land use decision that stoked the unrest after being involved in the decision when it was a part of the coalition government in the state (reftels). ¶11. (C) The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (PJP) is unequivocally in favor of early elections, primarily because it stands to gain seats in the Jammu region after having been wiped out in the 2002 election when it won only one seat. The Amarnath land use controversy (reftels) has helped it mobilize support among the Hindu population in the Jammu region. BJP leader Arun Jaitely told the press that a delay in elections would send the "wrong signal" to the international community. He argued that there is no unrest or violence in the state at this time and that pressure from the separatists to boycott the election is not a good enough reason to delay because elections in the past have been held despite the threat of boycotts. In his view a delay provides political space to the separatists and jihadis instead of to the mainstream parties. BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu seconded this view in a meeting with PolCouns, noting that the Congress Party feared a rout and that postponement of polls was unjustified. ¶12. (C) For non-PDP, non-BJP political parties the decision on election timing is fraught with real difficulties and political risks. Opinion is divided within these parties. Many of the politicians do not want to stick their neck out on one side or another for fear that the eventual decision may turn out to be the wrong one and fingers may point to them. The Congress Party, the National Conference and the Panthers Party fall in this group. Home Minister Shivraj Patil told the media that the Congress Party is ready for elections but the decision of when to hold them stands with the EC. National Conference leader Omar Abdullah made similar non-committal comments to the press as did the Panthers Party. ¶13. (C) The Congress Party stands to suffer heavily in both the valley and in the Jammu region for being the incumbent party in Delhi and Srinagar when the situation careened out of control this summer. Yet, as the party that leads the national government in Delhi, many of its leaders have a responsibility that goes beyond parochial political interests in one state. For the National Conference, the other mainstream Kashmiri party, the political landscape currently looks good by default as PDP lost support. However, the party understands that any win in the valley would be pyrrhic if voter turnout is low. GOI Tactics Succeeding For Now -------------- ¶14. (C) The fact that there is today a vigorous debate going on whether to hold elections this year is a reflection of the GOI's success during the last few weeks in first getting control of the volatile situation in Jammu and Kashmir and then disaggregating a complicated mix into its parts and addressing each element separately (reftels). In August it appeared unthinkable that elections could even be considered in the combustible atmosphere prevalent at that time. Even today, it may be risky to hold elections but it is clear that the GOI has achieved significant progress. It is still an open question as to whether this is progress is sustainable once elections are announced and the separatists call to boycott or otherwise sabotage GOI efforts to conduct elections which can be considered credible. WHITE