ELECTORAL COMMISSION PRESIDENT: CARTE BLANCHE AND

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NOUAKCHOTT 000363 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2019 TAGS: PGOV MR KDEM PHUM SUBJECT: ELECTORAL COMMISSION PRESIDENT: CARTE BLANCHE AND NEW WHEELS REF: A. NOUAKCHOTT 287 ¶B. NOUAKCHOTT 251 ¶C. NOUAKCHOTT 357 Classified By: AMBASSADOR MARK M. BOULWARE FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) Summary: Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) President Cheikh Saad Bouh Camara believes that the June 6 elections are the only way out of the crisis. Camara, not a friend of the FNDD or President Abdallahi's, is convinced that moving forward with the June 6 election has made the Dakar negotiations possible because the opposition would have never accepted to negotiate unless they felt they were "under the gun." A long-time Embassy contact and reputed sociologist and human rights activist, Camara stated he accepted to "give General Ould Abdel Aziz his good reputation" in exchange for carte blanche and plentiful resources to run the CENI. Camara seemed excited with his new job and gloated he had been assigned a brand new Japanese official vehicle. Nevertheless, he does not consider himself a sellout but a technocrat. He is convinced he can ensure transparent elections and is in denial about the real nature of the regime. He does not think the election will be rescheduled and remains optimistic that General Aziz will patch up things with the opposition after the election, maybe by dissolving the General Assembly and organizing free and fair parliamentarian elections. When informed about the US Embassy problems obtaining visas, Camara offered to intervene with the Foreign Affairs Ministry. End summary. -------------- CENI NEWS -------------- ¶2. (C) PolOff and Assistant DATT hosted a dinner on May 28 for Camara and his French girlfriend Nathalie, a professor of legal history at La Sorbonne who is preparing the Mauritanian government's White Book on Decentralization. Camara has always been helpful to PolOff and other EmbOffs by providing background information about Mauritanian culture and politics, sharing contacts and, most recently, facilitating meetings with CENI representatives. ¶3. (C) Camara said the CENI is currently coordinating the vote of Mauritanians abroad and stated 20,000 Mauritanians are registered to vote in 18 countries. According to Camara, the new CENI, unlike the 2007 one, is permanent and will continue existing after the election. Comment: The CENI has a six month mandate. PolOff thinks Camara is fooling himself in thinking Aziz will keep the CENI permanently. End comment. PolOff told Camara she had been unable to access the electoral list online. He said the lists were not ready yet as CENI was still reviewing them for accuracy and to ensure no Mauritanians abroad had registered to vote twice. This statement is surprising in light of the official media announcement that CENI electoral lists were finalized and could be found online. Camara stated a new CENI member -- a Christian Mauritanian -- had been designated to replace Sid Ahmed Ould Habbot (Ref A). Comment: A "Christian Mauritanian" is practically a contradiction in terms, as Mauritania is 99.9% Sunni Muslim. End comment. Finally, he said that some CENI officials might be replaced as a concession to the opposition. He mentioned the opposition had told him they had no problem with him being President but they objected to the fact they had not chosen him (Ref B). Nevertheless, they did have reservation about other people who were too close to Aziz. Comment: This might be an indication that Aziz has already identified areas in which he is willing to make concessions and might signal a positive outcome for the Dakar negotiations. End comment. -------------- HIS REASONS TO ACCEPT -------------- NOUAKCHOTT 00000363 002 OF 003 ¶4. (C) Camara insisted on informing PolOff of his reasons for accepting CENI presidency. First, although a coup detractor and someone who encouraged consensus from the beginning, he believes the crisis cannot go on indefinitely and that only elections can provide resolution. Second, he was offered carte blanche by General Aziz and unlimited resources to ensure elections were "free and fair." Third, Camara said he was the best qualified person for the job and if he did not accept it, somebody else with much less intellectual and moral probity would have. Fourth, he is convinced that a "logic of participation" is better than a boycott and that he can influence things positively from the inside. Camara seemed excited with his new job and lost no time in proudly displaying his fancy CENI President business card. He also added that in the way of resources, General Aziz had kept his promises, especially by giving him a brand new Japanese official vehicle. Comment: It is ironic that CENI big wigs such as Camara and Trarza Director Ahmed Jiddou have brand new official vehicles whereas CENI officials in Tiguint are reduced to borrowing one from the Wali (Ref C). End comment. Camara was thrilled with his job and went into detail about the technical challenges. Comment: Camara seems like a competent person and highly enjoys the challenges and responsibilities of his new position. End comment. ¶5. (C) Camara criticized the international community for not understanding that "there was no difference between the current coup d'etat and the 2005 one." He rejected PolOff's argument that the main difference was that in 2007 the military did not run in the elections whereas now General Aziz was a candidate. He argues that in 2007, President Ould Cheikh Abdallahi was running on behalf of the military, which is the same thing. He said he hopes the Senegalese mediation will deliver but doubts that the election date will be moved. He stated General Aziz will most likely try to come to a consensus with the opposition after the election, probably by dissolving the National Assembly and organizing free and fair parliamentarian elections. -------------- -------------- IN DENIAL AND OFFER TO INTERVENE IN FAVOR OF US VISAS -------------- -------------- ¶6. (C) When PolOff asked him how he felt about the regime's increasing repression and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' negative response to her diplomatic note about meeting with the Trarza CENI, Camara seemed both sad and surprised. He said he had been in jail many times in his youth and unable to find work because he was a human rights activist but he did not comment further. As for the dip note response, he said he had met with junta "Foreign Minister" Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou after PolOff informed him the Ministry had attempted to shut down her trip. He said Mohamedou was very positive about relations with the US and stated he had only thought PolOff's reasons to go to Rosso to meet with the police were "unclear." Reportedly, Mohamedou said PolOff had not followed correct procedures by requesting a meeting directly with the Rosso Police and not contacting the Ministry of the Interior first to ask for permission. Mohamedou reassured Camara that his response to the dip note had nothing to do with CENI. When PolOff explained that the response to the Embassy was all about CENI and did not mention the meeting with the police, Camara said he could not believe it. He shook his head and stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no right to decline meetings on behalf of CENI. He said that the MFA's attitude was wrong and that he believed openness and transparency was the way to go. ¶7. (C) During the dinner, Camara spoke highly of the Peace Corps program and the volunteers' work in Mauritania. He told his girlfriend he admired Peace Corps volunteers for accepting to live in "the middle of nowhere" like Mauritanian villagers. PolOff took advantage of the opportunity to gently highlight that the regime was making it difficult for NOUAKCHOTT 00000363 003 OF 003 Peace Corps volunteer families to obtain visas. She also mentioned that there were delays in granting visas to Americans. Camara seemed shocked and said that if the Embassy wanted, he would ensure whatever visas were delayed were granted. Comment: PolOff does not know how much influence Camara could have but he sounded confident he could do something. End comment. He mentioned he was very grateful to the consul for granting him a five year visa to the US. He stated his son is a student at the University of Massachusetts in Boston and expressed his desire that his acceptance of the CENI presidency would not be an obstacle to continued friendship with the Embassy. ¶8. (C) Comment: After being "under the boot" all his life, Camara relishes the resources and recognition that CENI presidency afford him. He is "into the weeds" and so much focused in his job he seems to be oblivious about the environment surrounding him. He struck PolOff as someone who is enjoying his big break and who has chosen to ignore the true nature of the regime. As a 65 year old man with a college age son studying in the US, he is probably enjoying his newfound wealth. He seemed to be somewhat naive and, although he understands General Aziz is using him to legitimize his election, he does not seem to mind. He might be also choosing to ignore that his reputation has taken a hit for accepting to play Aziz's game. End comment. BOULWARE