MAKING ELECTIONS AFGHAN, WITH HELP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 000465

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KDEM PGOV AF
SUBJECT: MAKING ELECTIONS AFGHAN, WITH HELP


1. (SBU) At the semi-annual ISAF headquarters conference
for the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) held February
25-26, key Afghan players on elections highlighted the
dramatic increase in the capabilities of Afghan institutions,
thanked international partners for their support, and spelled
out requests for the 2009 elections. The Independent
Election Commission (IEC) asked the PRTs to help construct
IEC provincial offices, mentor the police and army in
provincial-level election security planning and operations,
and help coordinate the provision of logistical support --
especially air transport -- by the security forces to the
IEC. The IEC encouraged ISAF and the Afghan security forces
to incorporate international forces into election security
plans to close the gap in the number of troops needed at
polling centers on voting day.

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INDEPENDENT AND SUSTAINABLE
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2. (SBU) Dr. Azizullah Ludin, senior IEC Commissioner, on
February 25 announced that the IEC, in its first independent
electoral project, had exceeded its target of 2 million new
voters for the just-concluded registration update by some 2.3
million additional voters, a resounding success. He noted a
recent academic study concluded the Afghan IEC was a
stronger, more competent organization that comparable
electoral bodies in Iraq, Kosovo and East Timor. Only two
years old, the IEC had started its work without desks or
chairs, funded by a modest 600,000 USD government budget, and
facing stiff salary competition from international
organizations for staff with experience and skills. The IEC
had overcome these challenges, and Ludin expressed the
Commission's thanks to Afghan and international security
forces for their support in voter registration. Deputy
Interior Minister Mangal said, amid serious threats,
successful security planning meant that during four months of
voter registration only two police officers were killed, and
only three officers and two election workers were injured, in
connection with the process.


3. (SBU) Speaking three days before Karzai's ambiguous
decree on the election date, Ludin carefully explained the
Commission had based its choice of an August 20 election date
on the Constitution, which called for a universal franchise.
He acknowledged continuing "rumors" and "discussion" about an
earlier date but underscored the Commission's political
independence and steady work on its detailed plans for "free,
fair, legitimate, and universal" elections on August 20.
Looking ahead to future elections, the IEC hoped to establish
permanent provincial offices, rather than continuing to lease
space, to reduce costs to a level sustainable by the Afghan
national budget. Ludin suggested the PRTs could contribute
to this infrastructure development effort.

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FOR ELECTIONS, EVEN BETTER
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4. (SBU) Dr. Daoud Ali Najafi, Chief Technical Officer of
the IEC, on February 26 identified the IEC's "lessons
learned" from voter registration for use in election planning.

-- The IEC, its international technical advisors, and the
security forces benefit from time to plan election activities
in advance.

-- The IEC needs to improve communication between its
headquarters and field elements, partly through procedures,
and partly by equipping more of the remote sites with
satellite phones.

-- Election security works better when the IEC works closely
with the security forces, and when, in turn, the different
security elements -- police, army, intelligence and
international forces -- clearly divide responsibilities. In
particular, Najafi argued for greater use of the regional and
provincial security coordination centers (OCC-Rs and OCC-Ps)
as operation centers, with PRT or other international
elements serving as mentors.

-- The IEC found local initiatives key to problem-solving,
and will give its provincial offices more responsibility for
planning election operations, movements of materials, and
public outreach, including organizing the very effective
local voter mobilization shuras.


5. (SBU) Najafi specifically requested ISAF consider how to
help provide security to polling centers on voting day. He
said that, with some 7000 voting sites nationwide, police
resources will be inadequate. Police Colonel Alimas likewise
emphasized this point at the IEC's weekly election security

KABUL 00000465 002 OF 002


meeting on March 2. Alimas reported early police planning
showed voting day would need 56,000 police devoted to
election security. Even putting aside all other missions,
such as border policing, the National Police have only 52,000
troops.
DELL