"MY FRIENDS, HURRY UP AND VOTE" -- THE U.S.,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NDJAMENA 000089

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

LONDON FOR POL: LORD
PARIS FOR POL: D'ELIA AND KANEDA
ADDIS ALSO FOR AU

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM PREF OIF EU AU CD
SUBJECT: "MY FRIENDS, HURRY UP AND VOTE" -- THE U.S.,
FRENCH, EU, AND OIF PRESS CHAD PARTIES TO MOVE QUICKLY TO
NATIONAL ELECTIONS.

REF: NDJAMENA 0070

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) Ambassador Nigro joined visiting French FORMIN
Bernarnd Kouchner and EU and OIF special representatives in a
forceful four-way March 14 demarche to Chad's Electoral
Reform Committee, urging it to resolve problems currently
blocking progress toward legislative and local elections
during 2009. Taking the lead, Kouchner made clear that the
international community, led by the four demarching parties,
was focused closely on Chad and prepared to help the Chadians
hold credible national elections on schedule. He also warned
that there was a limit to international patience and
interest. Opposition members of the Committee laid out three
problems preventing forward movement: failure to resolve
differences between Parliament and the Committee over
technical changes proposed by Parliament to draft electoral
laws; lack of a system of biometric identity cards; and
insufficient security for countrywide campaigning. Kouchner
specified that 2010 was the last acceptable timeframe for
elections in Chad. He brushed aside opposition arguments as
"technical problems," urging them to act as statesmen able to
identify "political solutions." Chadian President Idriss
Deby Itno, in a subsequent meeting with Kouchner and the EU
and OIF Special Representatives, said that he wanted
elections this year, as specified in the August 13 Accord
(see Reftel).

2.(SBU) The Ambassador and his French colleague had
coordinated last week regarding U.S. participation in the
joint demarche. We share in general the French, EU, and OIF
analysis that while the majority party coalition and elements
of the GOC may be guilty of failing to push the electoral
process forward as hard as they might, at present it is
certain elements of the opposition party coalition, led by
Salibou Garba, who are responsible for the impasse. The OIF
has offered a pair of technical experts intended as a
face-saving measure for Garba and friends. But the stern
nature of the demarche was Kouchner's peroration -- "Hurry
up! Our patience is not ever-lasting. Hold elections in
2010 -- or else." President Deby's commitment to Kouchner
and company that he expected elections in 2009, as the August
13 accord foresaw, was a very good sign, as was his
expression of support for a credible CENI. Even so, we're
guessing that we'll see polling in Chad early in 2010, which
is not bad by regional standards. We think that this
timeframe should be accepted by friends of Chad as
substantive compliance with the first of the two key goals of
the August 13 Accord. END SUMMARY.

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KOUCHNER: ELECTIONS MUST BE HELD SHORTLY
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3. (SBU) Ambassador Nigro joined visiting French Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner and EU and International
Francophone Organization (OIF) special representatives in a
forceful March 14 demarche to Chad's Electoral Reform
Committee, urging it to resolve problems currently blocking
progress toward elections later this year. Along with
Kouchner and the Ambassador, at the table were EU Special
Representative for Chad Georg Lennkh and OIF Special
Representative for Chad Ould Lebatt. The French Ambassador,
the EU Ambassador-Delegate for Chad, and the German
Ambassador were also present. Around the table were four of
five members of the Committee's leadership -- former
president Lol Mahamat Choa, Abdrahman Djasnabaye and Brahim
Koulamallah from the President's ruling Patriotic Salvation
Movement (MPS) party, and Salibou Garba of the opposition
coalition, Coalition of Political Parties in Defense of the
Constitution (CPDC). (The fifth Committee Leadership member,
CPDC figure Saleh Kebzabo, was absent.) The four
international partners took advantage of the presence of
Kouchner and Lennkh in Chad for ceremonies marking the
stand-down of the EU's EUFOR PKO March 15 to coordinate a
high-level approach to the Committee on the current impasse
over electoral preparations.


4. (SBU) Taking the lead at the meeting, Kouchner told

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members of Chad's Electoral Reform Committee March 14 that
the international community, especially the four
international parties currently at the table, was growing
tired of the Committee's continued references to "technical
difficulties" as blocking the path toward scheduled
elections. He recalled the degree to which France, the EU
and partners including the United States had already provided
technical and financial assistance in the aim of readying the
nation for elections in 2009. CPDC member Salibou Garba
rejoined that the CPDC's unwillingness to move forward was
based on three objections: the Chadian Parliament had made
changes to drafts of two key electoral laws that rendered
them "unacceptable;" the general climate of political
uncertainty and insescurity was hampering the ability of the
opposition to campaign; and biometric ID cards were needed to
prevent voter fraud.


5. (SBU) Kouchner pointed out that political will would be
necessary to resolve differences within the Committee and
between the Committee and Parliament. He noted that the OIF
intended to send two legal experts to Chad by March 17
inorder to break the legal and technical deadlock, adding
that the international community expected this task to be
accomplished "by the end of the week." He warned that
international patience "was not everlasting," and that we
were tired of excuses. He stressed that if Chad did not
manage to hold elections by 2010 at the latest, the
international community could not guarantee that
unconditional support for Chad's electoral process would
continue. Kouchner noted that there were competing interests
for funding in locations where the will to democratize was
stronger.


6. (SBU) The Electoral Reform Committee, officially the
National Committee for the Implementation of the August 13,
2007 Accord, is charged with implementing the reforms of the
Accord to enable credible communal and legislative elections
in 2009 and equally credible presidential elections in 2011
(see Reftel). The Accord further recognized the need for a
new electoral code, an independent electoral commission, two
national censuses, one
"demographic" and the another "electoral," among other
political and administrative changes. The Committee
leadership is a five-person affair. Its current president is
respected former President of the Reublic and CPDC member Lol
Mahamat Choa; its MPS members are Abdrahman Djasnabaye and
Brahim Koulamallah; its CPDC members are Salibou Garba and
Saleh Kebzabo.

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DEBY WANTS ELECTIONS "THIS YEAR"
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7. (SBU) After the four-way demarche to the Committee,
Kouchner, Lennkh and Lebatt met with President Deby to review
the prior meeting. Kouchner confidante and spokesman Eric
Chevallier later told Ambassador that Deby responded
positively to Kouchner's description of the impasse and the
need to overcome it. Chevallier said that Deby asserted he
wanted the elections no later than the end of 2009, as the
August 13 Accord suggested, not in 2010. Deby said further
that biometrics would not be necessary, given costs in time
and resources of going this route. Deby also expressed a
commitment to ensuring that a "credible" independent
electoral commission would be established soon.

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USG SUPPORT FOR CHAD ELECTORAL REFORM
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8. (SBU) Besides political support to the EU-led negotiation
of the Accord itself, our own contribution to the
implementation process has been limited up to now to USDOLS
150,000 for the pre-electoral population census. We are
working with USAID on providing additional assistance in the
forms of (a) USDOLS 1.3 million in additional funds for the
censuses, and (b) USDOLS 3 million in bridge funding for the
elections themselves (whose exact use we have not yet
defined).

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COMMENT

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9. (SBU) The Ambassador and his French colleague had
coordinated last week regarding U.S. participation in the
joint demarche. We share in general the French, EU, and OIF
analysis that while the majority party coalition and elements
of the GOC may be guilty of failing to push the process
forward as hard as they might, at present it is certain
elements of the opposition party coalition, led by Salibou
Garba, who are responsible for the impasse. The OIF's offer
of a pair of technical experts is intended as a face-saving
measure for Garba and friends. But the stern nature of the
demarche was Kouchner's peroration -- "My friends, hurry up!
Our patience is not ever-lasting. Hold elections in 2010 --
or else." President Deby's commitment to Kouchner and
company that he expected elections in 2009, as the August 13
accord foresaw, was a very good sign, as was his expression
of support for a credible CENI. Even so, we're guessing that
we'll see polling early in 2010, which is not bad by regional
standards. We think it should be accepted by friends of Chad
as substantive compliance with the first of the two key goals
of the August 13 Accord. END COMMENT.


10. (U) Tripoli Minimize considered.
NIGRO