Senegalese local elections: The Department of Medina Yoro

UNCLAS DAKAR 000386

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL AND INR/AA
PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER

TAGS: PGOV PREL PINS KDEM ECON SG
SUBJECT: Senegalese local elections: The Department of Medina Yoro
Foulah will vote again

REF: Dakar 384


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On March 28, electors will be called to vote for a
second time in a week in the department of the Region of Kolda. The
Department of Medina Yorofoulah received their ballots after the
official closing time of 18:00 and decided to conduct late night
voting in violation of the law. After the National Electoral
Commission (CENA) publicized the violation, the government was left
with little choice but to reorganize elections in this area. End
Summary.

Late night voting
--------------


2. (SBU) The representative of CENA in Kolda told Embassy staff that
in many areas the GOS had delivered the equipment needed to conduct
the voting (booths and ballot boxes) but had failed to deliver
ballots. Some polling stations received their ballots around 14:00
(six hours after the official opening time) and were able to conduct
the vote by extending its duration. However, some more remote areas
received their ballots after the official closing time of 18:00.
The CENA refused, for security reasons, to do an all night voting
session in this area that has neither electricity nor a decent
telephone network. However, seven villages in Medina Yorofoulah
choose to ignore the CENA's decision.

Incompetence or Sabotage?
--------------


3. (SBU) Local opposition leaders were quick to claim collusion
between local Ministry of Interior officials in charge of organizing
the election and the ruling Democratic Party of Senegal (PDS) which
was running under the banner of the SOPI coalition. They maintain
that SOPI counted on the fact that they as an opposition did not
have the means to provide transportation for their voters and that
they knew that these people would chose to simply not vote. While
it is almost impossible to prove the veracity of these allegations,
Kolda is a more extreme case in the organizational problems that
affected the voting as reported in reftel. The human rights
organization RADDHO's Kolda representative blames it on incompetence
by GOS administrators.

COMMENT
--------------

4. (SBU) Unofficial results indicate that the ruling party has won
the Kolda region. The local CENA representative told Embassy that
the approximately 3,000 people who will re-vote will not overturn
SOPI's regional victory, but that respecting the electoral law was
the object of the exercise. Once again CENA has proved that it is
willing and ready to prevent the government from violating electoral
laws. Until this election, the leadership of CENA was regarded as
being far too passive and susceptible to pressure. To many people's
surprise, this election revealed that CENA's regional
representatives are ready fill the vacuum to uphold democratic
standards.
Bernicat