NEC PROCEDURES CONCERN ELECTIONS ADVISORS AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001476 SIPDIS NSC FOR MGAVIN, LETIM DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/30/2019 TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM PREL SU SUBJECT: NEC PROCEDURES CONCERN ELECTIONS ADVISORS AND DONORS REF: A. KHARTOUM 1323 ¶B. KHARTOUM 1455 Classified By: A/CDA Mark L. Asquino, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. Following the end of voter registration on December 7, the voter roll exhibition and challenge period were "check-the-box" exercises in which few voters were aware of the process, according to election advisors here. In the view of the latter, the National Election Commission (NEC) continues to lack transparency by refusing to produce a detailed budget for the donor community and by denying permission to conduct an internationally-funded audit of the voter rolls. These election advisors fear that such NEC practices could be violations of the election law and lead to future legal challenges by political parties. End Summary. -------------- VOTER ROLE CHALLENGE PERIOD FINDS FEW ERRORS -------------- ¶2. (C) The voter roll exhibition and challenge process took place from December 10 through December 19. Initial reports by international observers and election advisors highlight that neither took place in a systematic way. Country Director for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) noted that the NEC "checked the box" but failed to offer voters real access to the voter rolls. He added that the NEC did not publicly announce the process, and that voter roll exhibition locations were unclear. In some cases, the Embassy received unconfirmed reports from various sources that citizens in Khartoum were denied access to the voter roll and told by voter registration staff that "the registrars will check for them to ensure they are on the list." -------------- NEC CONTINUES LACK OF TRANSPARENCY -------------- ¶3. (C) During an NEC Policy Committee meeting on December 17, the Commission Deputy Chairman, Professor Abdullah Abdullah, refused requests from election advisors and donors to carry out an audit of the voter rolls. Abdullah stated that the NEC itself would "analyze" the voter rolls and then produce a report. The IFES spokesperson said he was not surprised that the NEC declined such a request and suggested that it could reflect the NEC's lack of confidence about the integrity of the rolls. Election advisors do not believe that the NEC has the capacity to actually carry-through on its promise. They add that any report that it produces is likely to be cursory and fail to abide by international standards for voter roll exhibition and challenge. ¶4. (C) The NEC has repeatedly turned down donor requests for an up-to-date budget and expenditures report and refused to allow an international audit of the budget. During successive NEC Policy Committee meetings from September through December 2009, the NEC declined to give donors detailed financial information. Finally on December 17, the NEC provided donors with some basic figures that were not comprehensive or fully transparent. Deputy Chairman Abdullah stated that the donors had thus far spent USD 44 million and the Government of National Unity (GoNU) had spent SDG 111 million, approximately USD 4,440,000. Abdullah highlighted that approximately SDG 60 million was spent on voter registration in the North while SDG 20 million was spent in the South. The rest of the GoNU contribution, according to Abdullah was used for NEC set up and administrative costs. Election advisors doubt the veracity of these numbers and the IFES representative called the lack of transparency in the NEC budget "troubling." 5.(C) The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) Chief Electoral Affairs Officer was less worried about the budget release. However, he expressed concerns regarding NEC requests for funding from the international community while donors are unaware of government expenditures for the NEC. The IFES highlighted a continuing concern of election advisors and donors alike, noting that the disparity in voter registration funding between the North (SDG 60 million) and the South (SDG 20 million) is now evident even by the NEC's own admission (ref A). -------------- ELECTORAL LAW VIOLATIONS A PROBLEM? -------------- KHARTOUM 00001476 002 OF 002 ¶6. (C) During a December 21 meeting with poloff, the IFES Country Director stated: "It is not a question of whether the elections will happen now, but rather a question of whether the elections will happen under the current legal framework in a credible way". Election advisors, including UNMIS and IFES, are concerned about the build-up of technical problems and small infractions that they believe violate the electoral law. IFES expressed concern that these small infractions could lead to various political parties challenging election results on the basis that the election was not free and fair and non-compliant with the election law. During the last two weeks, political party officials and press report that the National Congress Party (NCP) and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) are challenging certain voter registration numbers. The NCP is challenging the discrepancies of registration numbers that exceed 100 percent of the voting eligible population in five states in the South (ref B). The DUP accuses the NEC of using Sudanese embassy staff to register voters at embassies abroad, a violation of the election law. Finally, IFES and UNMIS noted that despite constant reminders to NEC staff, the NEC continues to modify the election timeline without public notice or justification, contributing to a flawed electoral process which disenfranchises voters and creates an opening for political party challenges. -------------- -------------- POLLING PLANNING DELAYED, LOGISTICAL CHALLENGES FACE NEC -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) Candidate nominations are scheduled from January 12 through January 22. This will be followed by the election campaigning period from February 13 until polling in April, ¶2010. According to both IFES and UNMIS, NEC indecision regarding the polling plan is frustrating polling preparation. Advisors have given the NEC a January 11 deadline for all specifications related to polling. These advisors complain that the NEC has already delayed four times and finally canceled election advisor-facilitated workshops designed to work on polling plans. Despite numerous election advisor proposals, the NEC in their view continues to delay decisions until the last minute. An UNMIS spokesperson pointed out, with over 1,268 different ballots to print and distribute to thousands of polling locations, the logistical challenges that face the NEC are great. There is concern that while UNMIS is ramping up its capacity to assist the NEC with logistics, the NEC is postponing decisions on polling, which complicates planning. According to election advisors at IFES and UNMIS, voter education and information are imperative in preparation for polling, especially since voters in the South will be faced with twelve ballots and voters in the North with eight. ¶8. (C) Comment: The NEC's refusal to provide donors with a detailed budget is of genuine concern. This coupled with the NEC's unwillingness to permit an international audit of the their budget and voter rolls could indicate, as elections advisors maintain, that election officials here do not have full confidence in the integrity of their accounting and voter rolls. Election advisors and the international community continue to express concern about NEC transparency and decision-making on key processes that they warn may render the elections as non-credible (e.g. the elections could be challenged on a legal basis by political parties). That said, the NEC was far more successful in the voter registration process than elections advisors here thought possible. While the Mission will continue to work with elections advisors and others to address legitimate concerns, the "credibility" of April 2010 elections will ultimately be judged by the Sudanese themselves. End Comment. ASQUINO