MAURITANIAN ELECTION CHRONICLES FOR JULY 13 -- THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NOUAKCHOTT 000455 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM MR SUBJECT: MAURITANIAN ELECTION CHRONICLES FOR JULY 13 -- THE SCRAMBLE TOWARDS FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS REF: A. NOUAKCHOTT 451 ¶B. NOUAKCHOTT 431 ¶C. NOUAKCHOTT 440 ¶D. NOUAKCHOTT 344 Classified By: Ambassador Mark Boulware for reasons 1.4 (c) and (d) ¶1. (C) AU pressures Prime Minister to address complaints: The Ambassador attended an International Contact Group (ICG) meeting July 12 which discussed persistent complaints by the main three opposition candidates about Aziz's disregard for main Dakar Accord points (Ref A and B),African Union representative Annadif requested Prime Minister Laghdaf take action to "get that under control." The Prime Minister claims he has called Aziz on the inappropriate behavior. ¶2. (U) Aziz's officers campaign on his behalf: According to Website Taqadoumy (a strongly anti-Aziz site),not only has Aziz made inappropriate use of military aircraft -- which he claims he rented despite the fact that there are no laws and regulations in Mauritania regarding military equipment rental to private citizens -- but some officers loyal to him have disregarded Minister of Defense Yedali Ould Cheikh's warnings and have continued campaigning on behalf of the General as well as threatening and pressuring people in their regions. According to Taqadoumy, Colonel Sidina Ould Mohamed Boha, commander of the National Center for Commando Training in the Gorgol, has been seen distributing Aziz posters and delivering government water cisterns to campaign headquarters; Colonel Outhmane Ould Ebeid Lhamar, commander of the 5th military region in Nema, asked local authorities to vote for Aziz or face consequences; Commander Diop Hamet travels around his region harassing people to vote for Aziz. ¶3. (C) Additions to CENI pose problems: Ambassador learned at ICG meeting that the FNDD and RFD have submitted a list of 194 people they wish to add to local CENI staff in each sub-region as a way of balancing out local CENI representatives appointed by the previous authorities. For them, this is an important step to ensure transparency in the polling stations. The issue has been controversial, with the German Ambassador opposing the additions on the grounds that they are not part of the Dakar Accord. The problem will be raised with the Prime Minister today. ¶4. (C) Other CENI news: Ambassador also learned the Government of Mauritania will provide 250 million UM (almost $1 million USD) to fund CENI operations. CENI commissioners have returned from their field trips and expressed satisfaction at the level of preparation and commitment of local CENI authorities. The lack of international observers is a concern to many and the task of ensuring transparency in the polling stations will mostly fall upon party representatives. CENI members have expressed their reservations about using, as customary, the computer room in the National Assembly for final counting operations as this could compromise transparency because candidate Boulkheir is also the president of the National Assembly. ¶5. (U) Caravan of Hope rocks the vote in Sebkha: Late in the evening of July 12, PolOff attended a Caravan of Hope performance and education session at the underprivileged Nouakchott neighborhood of Sebkha. Over 300 spectators of all ages and ethnic groups were in attendance and more people kept arriving as the evening advanced, drawn by the Caravan's light beams, music, and performers. The key moment of the evening was the projection of a movie explaining election day mechanics, how polling stations work and how to vote. The audience became suddenly quiet and intently watched the video from beginning to end despite the festive ambiance in the streets of Sebkha. Electoral awareness initiatives like the Caravan of Hope are crucial in a country with high illiteracy rates and non-existent citizen education programs. ¶6. (U) Concerns about the vote of Mauritanians abroad: The opposition has expressed concerns about the transparency of voting activities abroad. This is the first time in the history of Mauritania that Mauritanians living abroad are NOUAKCHOTT 00000455 002 OF 002 allowed to vote in their country embassies. Post received a letter from Ould Daddah's Rassemblement des Forces Democratiques (RFD) stating they have proof of Mauritanian Ambassadors campaigning abroad on behalf of Aziz. Boulkheir has also highlighted this issue to the press (Ref C). It is unclear whether parties will be able to have representatives at all the embassies to ensure transparency. The international community has shown limited interest in sending observer missions. At an ICG technical meeting July 23, CENI advisors said the embassies are being instructed to operate like any other polling station -- that would give party representatives the ability to observe the voting at the 63 overseas polling stations. ¶7. (C) Aziz uses misinformation as proof of opposition-Israeli conspiracy: Aziz's campaign staff sent the Agence Nouakchott d'Information (ANI) Website a letter purportedly written by Nouakchott-based American citizen Maria Solomon to the Jewish Political Action Committees criticizing Aziz for closing down the Israeli Embassy and for actions that "breeds anti-semitism and stigmatizes opposition leaders as Israeli demons, (while) inciting hatred against American foreign policy and favoring) antisemitism in all its forms." Aziz claims that the letter, dated June 18, was delivered by UNAD president and FNDD leader Abdel Ghoudouss Ould Abeidna. Note: Maria Solomon is the wife of Peace Corps employee David Solomon and a former employee of Abeidna's. She did not have anything to do with the supposed letter. Aziz has publicly accused Abeidna of gathering Israeli support against Mauritania in the US (Ref A) -- indeed, Abeidna tells EmbOffs he is frequently called "the Mauritanian Jew." In the past, Embassy officials have been accused by the regime of funneling Israeli funds to the opposition (Ref D). End note. ¶8. (U) 140 imams support Daddah: One hundred and forty Nouakchott imams who previously supported Aziz have declared their support for Daddah on the grounds that his presidential platform "calls for the propagation of Islam in the Saharan-Sahelian region." ¶9. (U) European Ambassadors visit Aziz: According to local press reports, the Ambassadors of Spain, France, Germany and the European Union paid a visit to Aziz at his party headquarters on July 12 following a meeting July 11 on Afro-Mauritanian candidate Sarr. ¶10. (C) Early Warning -- Why so many ballots? At the July 13 ICG Technical meeting, EC experts noted that the revised electoral lists include about 1.29 million potential voters (750,000 voted in the first round of Presidential elections in 2007). The EC Deputy Representative asked why the government had ordered 1.6 million ballots -- well over the traditional 10% security margin normally followed. The CENI had also raised some concerns and, the EC expert reported, they had not been on hand to supervise the off-loading of the ballots. The CENI is demanding from the Ministry of Interior an accounting of where all the ballots are. ¶11. (SBU) US Support for election observers: The Mission is coordinating with AFRICOM to provide airlift to international observers for the elections. Mission personnel are tentatively set to join AU and Francophonie teams in Selibaby, Zouerate and Nema (the three most isolated provincial capitals). BOULWARE