KYRGYZ ELECTION: OSCE FINDS SOME PROBLEMS, LACKS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BISHKEK 000746 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM KG SUBJECT: KYRGYZ ELECTION: OSCE FINDS SOME PROBLEMS, LACKS OBSERVERS REF: A. BISHKEK 721 ¶B. BISHKEK 668 ¶C. BISHKEK 662 ¶D. BISHKEK 651 ¶E. BISHKEK 595 ¶F. BISHKEK 521 BISHKEK 00000746 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On July 9, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) Election Observation Mission (EOM) held a second briefing for diplomatic representatives to highlight the mission's interim findings regarding the July 23 presidential election. The EOM head said that administrative preparations are proceeding, but also noted several problems, including denial of membership in election commissions to opposition party members, and reports that media coverage is biased towards President Bakiyev. In other campaign news, few debates have taken place as planned. Neither President Bakiyev nor United People's Movement candidate Almazbek Atambayev attended a July 3 roundtable debate on state television, and most candidates have avoided the scheduled one-on-one radio and television debates, for a variety of interesting reasons. End Summary. OSCE Mission Observes Problems -------------- ¶2. (U) On July 9, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) Election Observation Mission (EOM) held a second briefing for diplomatic representatives to highlight observations of the long-term observers and other events related to the July 23 presidential election. Representatives from Germany, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Tajikistan, UNDP, and the U.S. attended. ¶2. (SBU) EOM Head Radmila Sekerinska said that in accordance with election legislation, a total of 2331 voting precincts have been established and over 20,000 district and rayon-level election commission members have been appointed and are receiving training. Long-term observers noted that the representatives of some opposition candidates were denied election commission membership on petty grounds, including the use of a national party stamp on application forms, instead of a local one, incomplete family names, and missing signatures. This observation was in line with an election report released earlier this week by the NGO Alliance "Time For My Choice" (ref A). ¶3. (SBU) Sekerinska highlighted the considerable advantages that the incumbent Bakiyev had over other opposition candidates. She noted recent reports that indicate a significant bias in media coverage in favor of President Bakiyev, and also a sizeable advantage in campaign financing (ref A). ¶4. (SBU) Sekerinska said that United People's Movement (UPM) candidate Almazbek Atambayev had filed a complaint with the Central Election Commission (CEC) for seizing his party's campaign leaflets. News reports quoted the prosecutor general's office as stating that the leaflets offended the "honor and dignity of another candidate for the presidency", namely President Bakiyev. Sekerinska said that Atambayev appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, but they rejected his case. After the brief, ODIHR staff told Poloff that the leaflets' primary theme was: "a vote for Bakiyev is a vote for four more years of corruption and instability". EOM Still Looking for Observers -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Sekerinska noted that the EOM may not meet its goal BISHKEK 00000746 002.2 OF 002 of fielding 300 short-term observers on election day, because only 200 observers have registered. She reiterated her appeal for volunteers from member states' diplomatic missions to fill slots as locally recruited observers, noting that the deadline to register is July 13. In addition, Sekerinska said that two domestic observer organizations, "Time For My Choice" and "For Fair Elections", have already recruited over 3000 and 2000 long and short-term observers respectively. ¶6. (U) Sekerinska said that the EOM would release a second interim report in the coming days and would hold additional briefings for OSCE member states and international organizations as the election campaign progresses. Candidates Duck Debates -------------- ¶7. (SBU) The CEC put together a comprehensive schedule of candidate pairings for radio and television debates, and scheduled an impromptu roundtable, but these opportunities for national exposure have not been embraced wholeheartedly by the candidates. On July 3, Kyrgyz State Television (KTR) held an election roundtable that was broadcast live, but both President Bakiyev and UPM candidate Atambayev did not attend, citing busy campaign schedules. The four remaining candidates participated, primarily to discuss their political platforms. ¶8. (SBU) Shortly after the CEC announced debate pairings, candidate Jenishbek Nazaraliyev announced that he had "nothing to say" to his putative debate partner Nurlan Motuyev, and would not debate him. Motuyev later passed on the favor, saying that he refused to debate President Bakiyev, whom he considered an ally, because it could "distract him from affairs of state." The UPM's Atambayev demurred on debating Temir Sariyev, until recently also of the UPM, because it might lend credence to the notion that there is a "rift in the opposition." And President Bakiyev's campaign announced, in a letter to KTR, that the President's busy schedule would not allow him to participate in a television debate with Tokayim Umetaliyeva. The single contest that has taken place to date, a radio debate between Umetaliyeva and Nazaraliyev, was wholly non-contentious, with the candidates largely agreeing with one another. Comment -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Embassy will continue to monitor and report on developments leading up to the July 23 Presidential election. LITZENBERGER