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