Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ABIDJAN411
2009-07-06 14:48:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Abidjan
Cable title:  

IDENTIFICATION/VOTER REGISTRATION ENDS, BUT MUCH

Tags:  PGOV KDEM IV 
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VZCZCXRO1617
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAB #0411/01 1871448
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061448Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5235
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000411 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM IV
SUBJECT: IDENTIFICATION/VOTER REGISTRATION ENDS, BUT MUCH
REMAINS TO BE DONE BEFORE ELECTION

REF: A. ABIDJAN 406

B. ABIDJAN 402

C. ABIDJAN 315 AND PREVIOUS

D. 08 ABIDJAN 616

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000411

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KDEM IV
SUBJECT: IDENTIFICATION/VOTER REGISTRATION ENDS, BUT MUCH
REMAINS TO BE DONE BEFORE ELECTION

REF: A. ABIDJAN 406

B. ABIDJAN 402

C. ABIDJAN 315 AND PREVIOUS

D. 08 ABIDJAN 616


1. (SBU) Summary. The identification/voter registration
process, which began almost one year ago, ended formally on
June 30. The fact that it was carried out without violence
is a major step forward in the peace process. The accuracy
of the results could, however, be questioned. Accusations of
fraud have re-surfaced in recent days and the President's
camp has complained that large numbers of Ivoirians were not
able to register before the deadline. Much work remains to
be done before a final voter list can be produced. If the
next stages of the electoral process are beset by the same
logistical and organizational problems that plagued the
identification process, it may become technically impossible
to observe the November 29 date. End Summary.


Identification/Voter Registration Ends
--------------


2. (U) The identification/voter registration process, which
began on September 15, 2008 and was extended several times,
ended on June 30. As of June 21, over 6.2 million had been
registered. The CEI plans to announce the final enrollment
figure in a week. The process was carried out in 11,000
centers nationwide as well as in 23 countries overseas:
Belgium, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Gabon,
Germany, Ghana, Great Britain, Guinea, India, Italy, Mali,
Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Spain,
Switzerland, Tunisia, and the United States. Despite
logistical and organizational challenges and setbacks, the
process was completed without violence.

Multiple Steps Needed Before Election Day
--------------


3. (SBU) While registration has ended, much work remains to
be done in order for the first round of the presidential
election to be held as scheduled on November 29,2009. The
data gathered for each applicant at the registration centers
needs to be electronically processed and checked for
duplication. This process was supposed to be ongoing at 70
regional centers concurrently with the registration process.
However, 56 of these centers are not yet operational because
a lack of electricity and air conditioning has prevented
installation of the computer equipment needed to conduct this
work. The CEI told Embassy that the centers should become

operational in late July.

Electoral List Must Be Finalized
--------------


4. (SBU) The next step is publication of the draft electoral
list. This must occur by August 29 for the election to be
held as scheduled on November 29 since the electoral code
provides that the draft list must be published no later than
three months before the date of the election. The
citizenship of new voters (i.e. those whose names were not on
the 2000 electoral list) is supposed to be verified by
checking historical archives before the draft list is
published, but it appears that the political parties have not
yet agreed on which archives may be consulted. Since the
issues of who is a citizen of Cote d'Ivoire is at the core of
the 2002 rebellion that brought about the country's political
crisis, this will be a critical issue (See Reftel D). This
is an issue on which it will be difficult to achieve
consensus and about which there is already confusion. For
example, on May 28 the Secretary General of the opposition
PDCI, one of the country's three largest political parties,
told Ambassador that everyone on the draft electoral list
would be considered a citizen unless proof were presented to
the contrary; it is not clear that the CEI shares this
perspective.


5. (SBU) Challenges to the draft electoral list will be the
next major hurdle. Once the draft list is published,
challenges regarding the inappropriate inclusion on or
omission from the list of a person who went through the
identification process will have to be made within 30 days.
The CEI's decision about a challenge can be appealed to a
judge free of charge by lodging a complaint with the clerk of
the court. CEI President Mambe told Ambassador on June 30
that the political parties will not be allowed to challenge
the inclusion of a potential voter. Only an individual
claiming to have proof that someone on the list is not
Ivoirian will be allowed to challenge the inclusion of that
individual. Individuals can lodge complaints against any
number of persons as long as they present proof. Persons who

ABIDJAN 00000411 002 OF 002


knowingly present false challenges will be liable to
prosecution. Complaints about mistakes in identity data
(name, gender, profession, etc.) will be submitted directly
to the judiciary rather than to the CEI. Judges are required
by law to resolve all electoral list disputes within 8 days
and their decisions cannot be appealed. The CEI President
told Ambassador that the final list will not be published
until all challenges to the draft list are resolved.
According to the electoral code, the final voter list must be
published 15 days before the election.

Candidates Must Register and be Approved
--------------


6. (SBU) Candidates must register with the CEI 45 days before
the election. The CEI transmits candidates' names to the
Constitutional Council within 72 hours of receiving them.
The Electoral Code provides that the Constitutional Council
publishes the final list of candidates no later than 20 days
before election day. While it is clear that the major
presidential candidates have been in pre-election mode for
months, the electoral code provides for a specific period of
official campaigning, to be set by decree. The CEI President
told Ambassador on June 30 that a person must be on the
electoral list in order to be a candidate. This would seem
to mean that candidates' formal registrations cannot begin
until the final electoral list is published, leaving very
little time for the official campaign period.

Cards Must Be Printed and Distributed
--------------


7. (U) Neither identity cards nor voter cards, which are the
end products of the identification process, have yet been
printed. Printing will commence once the final electoral
list is published. The cards will be printed in Cote
d'Ivoire, but the machinery to do so has been imported. The
CEI was unable to tell Embassy whether the machinery has in
fact already arrived since Sagem, the French company hired by
the government to print them, is in charge of this.

Numerous Decrees Must Be Signed
--------------


8. (SBU) The Prime Minister's Office told Embassy that the
President will have to sign about 40 decrees to permit the
holding of an election. CEI President Mambe doubted that
many are really needed but confirmed to Ambassador that at a
minimum President Gbagbo has to sign decrees to approve: the
final electoral list, list of overseas registration sites,
list of polling sites, the staff to man the polling sites,
printing of the voter cards, and validation of the final
voter cards. Mambe said the normal procedure would be to
prepare and present to the President for signature all the
decrees at one time.


9. (SBU) Comment. The fact that the identification process
has been completed without violence is a major step forward
in Cote d'Ivoire's emergence from its crisis. All peace
agreements before the Ouagadougou Political Agreement (OPA)
floundered when it came time to address the issue of
identification of the population, ostensibly one of the major
reasons for the 2002 rebellion. However, challenges to the
integrity of the identification process are possible. There
have been numerous charges of fraud in recent days (See
Reftel B). In addition, government and FPI-controlled
newspapers both carried articles on July 1 bemoaning the
large numbers of Ivoirians who had not been able to register
before the process ended on June 30. It is true that many
persons only recently received birth documentation as a
result of the reconstitution of the civil registries. There
are also indications, however, many Ivoirians just waited
until the last moment and were then faced with long lines at
registration centers. Evidently many doubted that the June
30 deadline would be real. The presidential election may not
take place on November 29 due to a lack of will (See Reftel
A),but it is still technically possible to observe that
date. However, the CEI faces a tight timeline. Any delays or
glitches will truly make it technically impossible to
organize the election by November 29.



NESBITT