ENCOURAGING DISCOURSE ON ELECTIONS THROUGH PUBLIC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001256 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KDEM AF SUBJECT: ENCOURAGING DISCOURSE ON ELECTIONS THROUGH PUBLIC OUTREACH REF: KABUL 998 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The public outreach division of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) has developed a multi-layered strategy to educate the Afghan people about the August 2009 elections. IEC public outreach (PO) is striving to provide consistent and accurate messaging at appropriate times in the electoral calendar. The IEC will target separately women, youths, Kuchis, religious leaders, community leaders, political and security actors to reach a wide-cross section of voters. Training for PO staff will finish in the coming days and the PO campaign will begin on May 23 and run at full throttle through voting day. The PO department successfully engaged the public during voter registration and in the lead-up to the candidate nomination period (reftel). END SUMMARY STAFFING UP -------------- ¶2. (U) The IEC is training provincial public outreach officers (PPOO) and provincial public outreach trainers (PPOT) in three rounds, ending May 16. Once complete, the PPOOs and PPOTs will return to their home provinces and on May 21 and 22, will train their provinces' share of the 1536 civic educators (CE) in each provincial capital. From May 23, the CEs will engage the electorate at the district level to promote understanding of elections participation. The CEs will work in one man/one woman pairs to reach the largest audience. When possible, the IEC will hire individuals from the province and district in which they will work. Civic educators will utilize traditional methods of face-to-face outreach that are highly effective in Afghanistan. USING TRADITIONAL METHODS OF COMMUNICATION -------------- ¶3. (U) The CEs' primary tool is a nine-page, pictorial flip-chart, accompanied by a manual for the educators. The flip-chart enables the educators to tell the story of how Afghanistan's democracy began from the fall of the Taliban to the present. It promotes discussion on what voters should consider when voting for candidates, the work of provincial councils, how elections operate - in general terms and August 20 specifics - proper marking of ballots and the role of the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC). Although the ECC will produce a separate public outreach campaign, the IEC is including information about the ECC and electoral offenses to raise public awareness of the important safeguard. Starting May 23, the educators will travel around their districts and host two gatherings each day. As of mid-July, once final ballots are set, the educators will add a mock ballot to their tool kits. WHILE MAKING THE MOST OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY -------------- ¶4. (U) Embracing modern outreach opportunities the IEC is using SMS messaging. The first round of three mass SMS messages reached 6.3 million phones to promote candidate registration. A second round of messaging will go out around voting day and the IEC will send a third set if the elections require a second round of polling. The IEC is sponsoring 24 radio public service announcements (PSA) - 12 Dari, 12 Pashto - that will air on 30 radio stations, six times per day for two months. For the same period, 24 television PSAs - 12 Dari, 12 Pashto - will air on 10 TV stations twice daily. The PSA messages range from encouraging voter participation, explaining that ballots are secret, and noting that only female IEC staff will work in female polling stations to explaining how the IEC will count ballots. Targeting specific voting groups, the IEC will coordinate four TV and four radio roundtables featuring mullahs, intellectuals, women and IEC officials to discuss electoral procedures and encourage participation. All IEC PO materials list the number of the IEC's call center. With a free phone call, interested parties can reach an IEC operator for live assistance from 6AM to 12AM daily. QLLING THE STORY WITH DRAMA -------------- ¶5. (U) The IEC has ordered 15 episodes of a radio soap opera - in both Dari and Pashto - targeted at women. The program will run from mid-July to mid-August, focusing on the importance of female participation in the electoral process. The IEC is sponsoring a 10-minute TV documentary - also in Dari and Pashto - that will air on five stations, twice daily August 1-15. The program will provide a step-by-step explanation of the process for polling day. KABUL 00001256 002 OF 002 AND PICTURES -------------- ¶6. (U) IEC officials are deciding on locations for 684 billboards around the country. The IEC designed a poster series that explains voting day, promotes voter involvement and female participation, and links voting to the future of Afghanistan. Thirteen fact sheets detail each aspect of the electoral process. The IEC is sending "mullah books" promoting the value of democracy in an Islamic society to mosques throughout the country. The PO department has contracted printing of 1.5 million posters, 2.2 million brochures and 1.5 million fact sheets with the goal of distribution to every village in Afghanistan. AND LOCAL CREATIVITY -------------- ¶7. (SBU) In a May 13 meeting, IEC public outreach director Dr. Jalali said that community support will allow the IEC's civic education efforts to reach districts where the Taliban dominate. Jalali noted that during voter registration the IEC succeeded in sending teams into districts where community leaders had guaranteed the security of the teams. ¶8. (U) From May 23 to June 10, the IEC will accept small grant proposals for voter education. With a USD 1,000 each limit, the approximately 400 projects will develop live dramas in each district to educate voters. The IEC's two small grant coordinators will manage the planned small grants. The IEC hopes to fund one program per district. In addition, in urban centers the IEC will use cars with loudspeakers to spread its message. COORDINATING WITH THE ELECTORAL MEDIA COMMISSION -------------- --- ¶9. (U) The electoral law calls for the IEC to establish an Electoral Media Commission (EMC) at least 60 days prior to the elections. On May 10, well ahead of the June 20 deadline, the EMC officially formed with five commissioners appointed by the IEC, including two women. Still in the nascent stages of organization, the bulk of the EMC's activities will occur during the campaign period of June 16-August 18. The EMC will organize 16 media roundtables for presidential candidates using USD 2 million of funding from the IEC. The EMC will solicit candidate input on the format of the roundtables - 8 TV, 8 radio - and make certain that each candidate receives equal airtime. EIKENBERRY