NIGERIA: BINATIONAL COMMISSION ELECTIONS WORKING GROUP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 002015 SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/FO, AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL, INR/AA; USAID FOR AFR/WA (DALZOUMA) E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/02/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PINS PTER KDEM NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: BINATIONAL COMMISSION ELECTIONS WORKING GROUP ACTION PLAN REF: (A) Abuja 1962 (B) Abuja 1971 Classified By: Ambassador Robin R. Sanders for reasons in Sections 1.4. (B) and (D) ¶1. (C) U.S. Mission Nigeria has met several times over the last eight months to review current, planned, and proposed initiatives for promoting electoral reform and credible national elections in 2011. The review assumed new urgency after President Yar'Adua's appeal to the Ambassador and the British High Commissioner on October 27 to provide direct technical assistance for the revamping of the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) to lay the groundwork for a successful 2011 election (reftel A). A joint USAID-DFID team will be doing an assessment to review what is required to achieve credible elections, including at the state levels. This cable provides the current interagency political and development game plans for the 2011 elections -------------- Current USG Electoral Reform Activities -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Mission's current workplan seeks to provide a framework for the systematic, strategic tracking and shaping of electoral preparations and procedures. The current actions and game plans include: POLITICAL: -------------- The February 2010 gubernatorial election in Anambra State, which will pit the incumbent maverick Peter Obi against the former CBN governor from the nationally dominant People's Democratic Party, provides the next opportunity to gauge INEC performance and credibility as well as to test and refine the Mission's election coverage. -- Requesting INEC accreditation for Mission personnel to observe the election, including direct access to polling places; -- Launching a joint CG Lagos-British Deputy High Commission assessment team to Anambra in mid-November to meet with political party, civil society, media, and state INEC figures as well as ordinary citizens to benchmark election issues, expectations, and practices. Follow-up visits to track trends and look for electoral danger signs would roll out in late December and perhaps January. -- A foreign policy speech anticipated for Lagos in late November pegged to (but not in anyway announcing) the thematic priorities of the BNC. The Ambassador also will publicly state that the USG will be observing Anambra elections closely as a measure of both GON and INEC performance and credibility for successful elections. DEVELOPMENT AND CAPACITY BUILDING ACTIVITIES: -------------- ¶4. (SBU) USAID's Electoral Reform program activities over the last eight months helped establish a civil society coalition to promote electoral reform that includes political parties, women and youth groups, the media, peoples with disabilities, the Nigerian Bar Association, Muslim and Christian organizations, labor unions and grassroots organizations. USAID has and continues to work with this coalition to build its technical and logistical capacity to participate in upcoming National Assembly zonal hearings on election reform starting in November 2009. ¶5. (SBU) USAID implementers NDI and IRI facilitated the participation of Election Commissioners from Sierra Leone, South Africa and Ghana Qof Election Commissioners from Sierra Leone, South Africa and Ghana in a recent international workshop in Abuja on best practices in election reform. As a result, Nigerian lawmakers are considering a request to adopt the Ghana method whereby the media get results at the polling centers once they are certified by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). -------------- Planned USG Electoral Reform Activities -------------- ¶6. (C) As part of our nationwide game plan, U.S. Mission Nigeria will ABUJA 00002015 002 OF 003 identify key areas to watch with an emphasis on "bellwether" states that might reflect or influence nationwide or at least regional trends and also on potential "hot spots," like several Niger Delta states, which have been historically prone to exceptional violence. ¶7. (C) The Mission is building on its list of key political parties (including the new political parties),political coalition groups, and civil society organizations with which to further engage before and during the national election campaign. Such meetings have provided and should continue to provide insights into how the political playing field is being graded, funded, and measured. Benchmarks are being devised by the Mission regarding the: -- Establishment of accurate voter registration lists based on transparent and credible procedures that address issues of registrations in multiple jurdisdictions, migration, and death; -- Preparation of accurate lists of polling stations, including locations and number of registered voters; -- Adequate protection and security of ballot boxes; -- Public awareness of polling locations and procures; -- Impact of electoral reform implementation, including financial autonomy for INEC; -- Establishment of a more independent and transparent process of appointing the INEC Chairperson and Commissioners; -- Enactment of the eleven Electoral Reform Commission (ERC) recommendations (i.e. transparent voter and political party registries, serialized ballots) that apparently do not require approval by the National Assembly or state legislatures; and -- Publication of the full report of the Electoral Reform Commission by the Yar'Adua Administration. (Note: USAID printed 500 copies of a report synopsis for distribution to National Assembly members but the Administration never released the full report to the public.) ¶8. (C) The Mission is also creating tripwires to signal whether the GON is failing to take reasonable steps to promote free, fair, and credible elections that would require us to determine our public stance with the GON at that time. For example the following negative steps by the GON should elicit a response from us: -- Re-appointment of the incumbent INEC Chairperson in June 2010; -- Unwillingness to accredit international observers for the elections or to grant access by observers to polling stations; -- Failure to publish voter registration lists in a timely manner for review by citizens and political parties; -- Unwillingness to provide equitable access to television and print media for major opposition party candidates; -- Exclusion of non-PDP political parties or candidates who appear to have met reasonable eligibility requirements; -- Extreme violence; and -- Failure to publish an accurate list of polling stations and registered voters 30 days before the elections. ¶8. (C) USAID will receive USD five million for its 2011 Elections Program and has requested an additional $15 million in FY10 and $10 million in FY11 to support this effort. These funds will be used to provide training and technical assistance to civil society groups, organize symposia and seminars to educate stakeholders on the legal Qorganize symposia and seminars to educate stakeholders on the legal framework for elections, and educate and motivate voters. ¶9. (C) In addition, USAID will work with political parties to help them develop platforms, recruit members, manage party finances and mainstream gender, youth and people with disabilities into their platforms. It will train and deploy 15,000 election monitors nationwide, monitor voter registration activities and report on violence during pre-election rallies and campaigns. ABUJA 00002015 003 OF 003 ¶10. (SBU) USAID has also signed a cooperative agreement with the BBC to train journalists on electoral reform reporting, the elections and issue-based campaigning and media code of conduct. Long-term international observers will also be fielded to states prone to election-related fraud and violence to monitor and report on the election activities as they unfold. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶11. (C) The U.S. Mission interagency Country Team Members are coordinating closely on types of action and assistance that the USG can implement for the 2011 national elections. In addition, we are working closely with UK counterparts on all of the above areas, including an assessment team that can review all that is required (i.e. identifying experts who could advise, mentor, and train INEC officials, recommend logistics needs, etc.) to hold credible elections. SANDERS