2009 ELECTIONS BUDGET PROPOSAL RELEASED

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000893 DEPT FOR SE GRATION, S/USSES, AF A/S CARSON, AF/E, DRL Spring NSC FOR MGAVIN DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM SOCI EAID AU UNSC SU SUBJECT: 2009 ELECTIONS BUDGET PROPOSAL RELEASED REF: A) Khartoum 814, B)KHARTOUM 785, C) KHARTOUM 714, D) KHARTOUM 696, E) KHARTOUM 578, F) KHARTOUM 400, G) KHARTOUM 223 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The National Elections Commission (NEC) announced its 2009 budget of approximately $153 million USD on July 27, 2009, down from an earlier request of more than one billion USD. The GNU would commit approximately $72 million to 2009 elections preparations and seek over $79 million from the international community. Donors had earlier insisted on a comprehensive election budget before making additional contributions. Due to the eight month delayed budget, rapid procurement of voter registration materials will be necessary. The UN has also expressed concern that census results will be a major impediment to constituency delimitation. Increased cooperation between the international community and the NEC is encouraging but still has a long way to go. End Summary -------------- NEC 2009 BUDGET ESTABLISHED -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On July 22, poloff attended the biweekly donor working group meeting and on July 23, the monthly meeting of the Electoral Assistance Group (EAG) in Khartoum. UNMIS Chief Electoral Affairs Officer Ray Kennedy reported that UNMIS and UNDP organized a two-day workshop for the National Elections Commission (NEC) to identify resource requirements for the NEC through the end of calendar year ¶2009. The resulting budget totaled $152,796,669 but excluded costs for line items for which the NEC expected donor support, including funds needed for voter registration transportation costs. Based on this partial July-December 2009 budget, the GNU announced it will fund $72,830,938 million for this period. This leaves a gap of $79,965,731 for donors, UNMIS and UNDP to cover. UNDP Elections Advisor Jorg Guzman cautioned that all the money currently in the donor basket is committed to fund establishment of the NEC. However, in a push to get more donor funding, he has cast a positive light on future additional donor commitments. Kennedy highlighted that after the voter registration timeline and a 2009 comprehensive budget is released, the NEC will begin focusing on its needs for 2010. (Note: Embassy contacts have taken a more pessimistic view about meeting these funding goals. End Note.) Donors as well as UN representatives at the meeting expressed concern about the delayed budgeting process. ¶3. (SBU) UN officials flagged the procurement of voter registration materials as a problem. With only three months left before voter registration is due to begin, the UNDP will not be able to procure materials through its channels. Therefore, the NEC, donors, and UNDP will be obligated to find alternative means to get materials if the voter registration timeline is to hold. UN officials noted an improvement in the NEC's relationship with the international community and UNMIS. The USAID-funded International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) advisor commented that the NEC is ?on the right track.? However, the NEC is not yet adequately utilizing outside advisors. They are still not integrated into the initial development of election policies and procedures, and some advisors only recently received copies of procedures for comment. Critical steps, such as constituency delimitation, are underway without advisor participation or consultation. -------------- CENSUS RESULTS ACCEPTANCE PROBLEMATIC -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Kennedy highlighted the SPLM's refusal to accept the census as one of the primary challenges facing elections. Acceptance of the census results is critical to the drawing of constituency boundaries, constituency delimitation, and ultimately to the legitimacy of the elections in the South. Incomplete census data in sensitive areas such as Darfur and Southern Kordofan make the drawing of technically acceptable limits difficult. NEC informed UNMIS that national and state constituency delimitation is finished in fifteen northern states and two southern states. Kennedy told meeting participants that the UN is uneasy about the quality of delimitation and accuracy of the data used. The issue is especially acute in the South where delimitation has been very slow and refusal to accept census results has impeded the process, Kennedy told the group. ¶5. (SBU) Apportionment for the Southern Sudanese Legislative Assembly (SSLA) was passed by law. According to the law, the SSLA has 170 seats, out of which 102 (60 percent) are based on geographical constituencies. The Southern Sudan Election High KHARTOUM 00000893 002 OF 002 Commission must work closely with the Sudanese Election High Commissions to delineate constituencies. As the South has completed very little national, Southern Sudan or state level constituency delimitation, the process will be more complicated than in the North. In reporting to UNMIS, the NEC claimed that 98 percent of state high commissions have been established with offices, bank accounts and basic staff. UNMIS reports from the field, however, indicated there are still significant staffing and capacity gaps in some states. -------------- REFERENDA PREPARATION -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Kennedy appealed to donors to push the NCP and SPLM on referendum preparation. He emphasized that the election process must be done in tandem with preparation for the referenda in Southern Sudan and Abyei. Referendum preparations cannot move forward without the National Assembly passing needed legislation and establishing the necessary commissions. Kennedy urged donors to encourage the CPA parties to begin negotiations on the commissions' membership now so that the commissions can be established at the same time that the referendum law is enacted. ¶7. (SBU) UNMIS has received continuing reports of ?political space issues.? Kennedy asked donors to report all instances of harassment or other abuse of journalists, activists and politicians. Donors offered examples of cases that have been reported, such as the arrest of journalists reporting on elections in Southern Sudan and National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) harassment of political and voter education groups. In one instance, a NISS officer openly sat in on political party training. ¶8. (SBU) AID-off attended an NEC Policy Committee meeting on July ¶23. Donors expressed concern to the NEC regarding the lack of a comprehensive budget. Donors reiterated the need for an operational plan and consolidated budget forecast through the end of the electoral cycle April, 2010. Donors also remarked that only after seeing a consolidated budget and the proposed financial commitment of the GoS could they begin to release more funds. ¶9. (SBU) Comment: Establishment of the NEC budget through 2009, the result of the NEC-UNDP conference, is a positive step, and a necessary prerequisite to donor funding, although the pace of NEC preparation for the elections and lack of a comprehensive elections budget remain concerns. Post also sees the UN focus on the Southern referendum, at the expense of the Abyei referendum, as problematic in light of the volatility of the Abyei region. WHITEHEAD