CANDIDATE CHALLENGE PERIOD ENDS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001319

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/26/2019
TAGS: KDEM PGOV AF
SUBJECT: CANDIDATE CHALLENGE PERIOD ENDS

REF: A. KABUL 1232

B. KABUL 1196

C. KABUL 1140

D. 08 KABUL 613

Classified By: Political Counselor Alan Yu for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: The May 23 deadline for filing of complaints
against registered candidates has passed. The Election
Complaints Commission (ECC) collected a total of 268
challenges. Of those, the UN-sponsored Disarmament and
Reintegration Commission ("D and RC") submitted 119 names
with alleged links to illegally armed groups (IAGs). The ECC
will automatically disqualify these candidates, whose links
to militant groups have been confirmed through the
Disarmament of Illegally Armed Groups (DIAG) process. The
ECC began May 24 informing disqualified candidates, who will
have two weeks to withdraw their candidacy, disarm, or
demonstrate compelling evidence they have cut their links to
IAGs. The ECC will decide whether each of the remaining 149
complaints should lead to disqualification on a case by case
basis. The Independent Election Commission (IEC) hopes to
submit the final candidate list by June 9. End Summary.

--------------
Complaint Filing Period Ends
--------------


2. (U) The ECC collected 268 complaints from Afghan citizens,
political parties and candidates, against registered
candidates by the May 23 deadline. The ECC has not released
this list of names, but said 231 of the complaints pertain to
provincial council (PC) candidates, and 37 are against
presidential or vice presidential candidates. Of the 149
non-IAG complaints, the ECC says most pertained to war crimes
or crimes against humanity. The ECC will decide each case
based on established criteria, which include links to IAGs,
criminal convictions, and campaign finance violations. The
EEC head said in a press conference in mid-May that the
criteria for disqualification do not include human rights
violations and suspected corruption.

--------------
Remapping Improves Integrity of Candidate Vetting
--------------


3. (C) The Government of Afghanistan (GIRoA) views the DIAG
process as a political and legal mechanism to block armed
militants from seeking elected office. Christian Lamarre,
head of the Disarmament and Reintegration Commission ("D and
RC"),briefed the diplomatic community May 21 on the DIAG
candidate vetting process. Lamarre maintained that the
integrity of the vetting process has improved significantly
over the last year, by shifting to greater Afghan ownership.
Its staff has increased to over 400, only 15 of whom are
internationals. Afghan staff has been trained to base
decisions on established, consistent criteria. Lamarre
foresees further improvements to the process as the 2010
elections approach.


4. (C) Lamarre explained the update, or "remapping," of the
DIAG databases beginning in September 2008 in anticipation of
national elections. Provincial governors were in charge of
updating lists, with strong cooperation by security-related
ministries. Previously limited to a small number of
provinces and low-level militants, the DIAG list now contains
over 3000 individual names from all 34 provinces and all
levels of IAG leadership. From the new list, D and RC
identified a group of 100 eligible for immediate arrest or
disarmament. The Ministry of Interior (MOI) has used the new
information to begin monitoring the activities of 148
probable members of Taliban shadow governments in southern
Afghanistan.


5. (C) The D and RC worked with the Independent Electoral
Commission (IEC) throughout the remapping process to warn
individuals through press conferences and radio spots that,
if found to have active links to militant groups, they could
be disqualified from running for office. When the
registration period closed May 16, the DIAG secretariat
identified around 200 possible matches out of 3300
candidates. The DIAG secretariat then revalidated all the
names through all its five partners (ISAF, UNAMA, the
Minister of Defense , National Directorate of Security and
Ministry of Interior). With the additional intelligence
these partners provided, the D and RC feels confident that
the final list it submitted to the ECC is accurate and less
politically-based than the previous list.

--------------
Next Steps for IAG Candidate Disqualification
--------------

KABUL 00001319 002.4 OF 002




6. (C) With official vetting of the DIAG list complete, the
ECC began notifying candidates May 24. The Ministry of
Interior is assisting by delivering notifications to
disqualified candidates because of the ECC's limited
resources and the short time frame for notifications and
challenges. Candidates have two weeks to respond to these
notifications by either withdrawing their candidacy,
presenting compelling evidence they have cut ties to IAGs, or
by initiating the disarmament process through their DIAG
field offices. The DIAG will report back by June 8 with a
list of individuals who complied. The ECC expects to deliver
the final list to the IEC by June 9. Unlike the 2004-5
elections, a "promise" to disarm will not suffice; candidates
must enter the formal disarmament process.


7. (C) Lamarre predicted that about one-third of the PC
candidates will be cleared by demonstrating they have cut
ties with IAGs. (Note: He reminded the group that, if
cleared, an individual becomes untouchable and cannot be
added to the DIAG list at a later date). He also predicted
that about half of those notified will either withdraw their
candidacy or disarm. There will be a final meeting on June 8
of the DIAG security partners, who would then vote if there
were differences of opinion on the final disqualifications.
At least one representative of each security partner must
vote. ISAF has been discussing with DIAG advisor to the
President Stanekzai the need for appropriate messaging to
encourage disqualified candidates to honor the ECC's decision
and that authorities would deal seriously with any
disruptions to the election process.

--------------
ARJ and AMA Are Included on DIAG List
--------------


8. (C) Shortly before the candidate challenge process ended,
British and Canadian intel officers in Helmand and Kandahar,
respectively, learned that individuals of concern may have
dropped from the DIAG list. These included Abdul Rhaman Jan
("ARJ") and Amir Mohammed Akunzada ("AMA") in Helmand, and
Haji Saifulla (aka Safi Ullah) in Kandahar, all of whom have
strong ties to armed groups, in addition to their narcotics
trafficking links. The U.S. Embassy joined the UK in sending
a letter ) under established DIAG rules ) with evidence of
links to IAGs. We underscored that inclusion of these
individuals on the ballot would ensure their election and
undo any and all progress on security, counternarcotics and
governance in Helmand. The DIAG considered the additional
supporting evidence and determined these individuals would
remain on the list that it submitted to the ECC on May 23.

--------------
The Best Imperfect Process
--------------


9. (C) Lamarre argued the DIAG process represented one of the
most successful examples of institution building in
Afghanistan to date. He professed confidence that the Afghan
employees understood the possible political implications of
each name added to the list. While he was adamant that the
integrity of the DIAG process had improved significantly over
the last year, Lamarre underscored that it remained
imperfect. For example, collecting credible information
remains problematic, especially since remapping included
Afghanistan's least permissive areas for the first time. He
also admitted, when pressed, that the D and RC had taken the
need for regional balance into account when finalizing the
list. D and RC officials were concerned about the political
impact if the majority of the names appeared from the south
and the east.


10. (C) Lamarre also pled for continued cooperation from the
diplomatic community if officials were to attempt to lobby
for removals or additional disqualifications. He emphasized
that the international community has been briefed and should
stand behind the final decision of the DIAG.


11. (C) Comment: We and other donors are watching the final
decisions of the IEC. The process has undergone considerable
improvement over the past year, and we are working with the
IEC to ensure that individuals with links to IAG are kept off
the ballot. We have daily discussions with them about this
process. End Comment.
EIKENBERRY