HAITI'S HEAD OF ELECTIONS RESIGNS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 000134 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR, DRL, S/CRS, INR/IAA) SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PAS AID FOR LAC/CAR TREASURY FOR MAUREEN WAFER E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL HA SUBJECT: HAITI'S HEAD OF ELECTIONS RESIGNS REF: A) PORT AU PRINCE 0088 B) PORT AU PRINCE 0055 C) 07 PORT AU PRINCE 1996 PORT AU PR 00000134 001.2 OF 002 Classified By: Ambassador Janet Sanderson. Reason: E.O. 12958 1.4 (b) , (d) Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) Jacques Bernard, Director General of Haiti's Provisional Electoral Council and the man who was to manage Haiti's Senate elections later this year, submitted his letter of resignation to President Preval January 23, and soon thereafter left the country. Bernard's resignation letter, which he leaked to the press, states that the revision of the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) by-laws so compromised his authority that effective management of the elections had become impossible. This came after Bernard told Embassy -- and President Preval's advisors -- that most contentious issues in revising the by-laws had been worked out. President Preval directed his principal advisor Bob Manuel and his private sector advisor Bernard Craan to work with Bernard, but Bernard's departure quickly foreclosed that option. President Preval and private sector leaders who have supported Bernard express frustration with the departed Director General. Embassy finds it hard to imagine that with the personalities involved, either Bernard or the CEP board made much effort to get along. Bernard could not come to terms with the fact that the Preval government would want him to be accountable to the electoral authority, unlike the situation in 2006, when Haiti had no elected government. The private sector and the President were to meet January 28 to find a successor, but there are no obvious qualified candidates. Haiti's already delayed Senate election calendar will be further pushed back. Presidential Umbrage at Bernard -------------- ¶2. (C) Embassy learned January 24 that Provisional Electoral Council Director General Jacques Bernard submitted his letter of resignation to President Preval the previous day. Speaking to the Ambassador later on the 24th, the President claimed to be completely surprised by this turn of events. He promised to get his advisors Bob Manuel and private sector representative Bernard Craan to work with the CEP and Bernard to solve the problem, and asked that we give him space to do so. Manuel told the Ambassador January 25 that he and the President were incensed that Bernard had violated protocol by copying the CEP on his private letter to the President. Manuel said he had tried to reason with Bernard, but that Bernard refused to engage. Bernard then publicized his resignation in a January 25 radio interview and leaked his resignation letter to the press. Preval's private sector confidant Bernard Craan had contacted Jacques Bernard from Canada, agreeing to discuss the issue upon Craan's return to Haiti. Craan returned to Haiti on January 25, only to find out the next day that Jacques Bernard had left the country. Private Sector Feels Left in the Lurch -------------- ¶3. (C) AmCham President Bernard Fils-Aime, who has supported Bernard all along, told the Ambassador that he and his organization, after they had supported him so strongly, are unhappy at Bernard's sudden resignation. Fils-Aime said that AmCham and other private sector representatives had met for over two hours January 26 to discuss the way ahead and possible successors, and that they would meet President Preval January 28 to discus next steps. Embassy Efforts -------------- ¶4. (C) Bernard has communicated to Embassy his concerns over efforts to erode his authority as Director General (ref a). However, his resignation came after he had told PolCouns Jan 21 that most of the contentious points in revising the PORT AU PR 00000134 002.2 OF 002 by-laws had been acceptably resolved. He tempered that cautious optimism, however, saying that what mattered was less the precise language of the by-laws than the actual working relationship between the DG and the CEP board. He confided that he had suspected that the CEP councilors sought to undermine his authority and require CEP board approval for all substantive Director General decisions -- particularly on spending and personnel -- which would make his position untenable. PolCouns agreed on the centrality of cooperation between DG and CEP board, and urged Bernard to find a way to work with the CEP so that elections could go forward. Bernard then confided that he already had stayed away from work for several days, and would continue to do so until the problem was resolved. Ambassador spoke with Bernard several times through this period, urging him to find a modus vivendi with the new and inexperienced CEP councilors in the interests of getting the elections done. Comment: Bridges Burned -------------- ¶5. (C) Bernard never accepted the argument advanced by the President and some in the private sector that the Director General would have to share power with a CEP appointed by a legitimate elected government -- in contrast to the situation in 2006, when the international community induced Haiti's temporary interim government to accept a Director General virtually unaccountable to the CEP. We see little evidence that Bernard made a concerted effort to diplomatically assuage the new CEP councilors. To be fair, the CEP never reached out to or tried to work with Bernard either, as Ambassador counseled them (ref b). Soon after his appointment, the thin-skinned Bernard expressed doubts that he could reach a modus vivendi with the CEP, and expressed fear that he was being set up for failure. Still, his abrupt throwing in of the towel, preemptory press statement, rejection of approaches from Presidential advisors, and quick departure from the country have burned his bridges with the President and his private sector backers. Embassy sees no obvious candidates to replace him, but will encourage the President and the private sector to identify a successor quickly. One person anxious to get elections moving is newly-elected Senate President Kely Bastien, who told the Ambassador (septel) that he was anxious to consider the draft electoral law right after the Feb. 3-5 Carnival celebrations. In any case, this resignation will further push back Haiti's electoral calendar. SANDERSON