AND THEY'RE OFF! HAITI OPENS SENATE CAMPAIGN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 000312 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/EX, WHA/CAR, INR/IAA STATE PASS AID FOR WHA/CAR SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM ASEC HA SUBJECT: AND THEY'RE OFF! HAITI OPENS SENATE CAMPAIGN REF: PORT-AU-PRINCE 0122 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Haiti's electoral authority on March 16 declared the campaign for partial Senate elections officially open. The authority also installed on March 13 communal electoral bureau personnel, who will oversee the elections process in Haiti's 140 communes. Public response to the campaign opening has been lukewarm. The CEP continues to muddle through management of the elections process, but continues to assure the public that the elections will take place on April 19 as scheduled. Public apathy may well limit turnout. End summary. Electoral Campaign Opens without Much Fanfare -------------- ¶2. (U) The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP),Haiti's electoral authority, officially launched the electoral campaign for twelve Senate seats in a March 16 ceremony held in Port-au-Prince. The campaign will close on April 17 at 12:00 midnight, two days before Election Day. There are seventy-eight registered candidates representing fifteen political parties. CEP President Frantz Gerard Verret reaffirmed the election date of April 19 and admonished candidates (few of whom attended the ceremony) that they had the responsibility to respect the ''rules of democracy'' and adhere to the law, including prohibitions on posting campaign advertisements to exterior residential walls or fences which still carry tattered remnants from previous elections. Political Parties: Show Us the Money -------------- ¶3. (U) Political parties decried the CEP's inattention to public financing of the campaign which the electoral law provides for. (Note: Article 125 of that law authorizes the Ministry of Finance to subsidize political parties to cover campaign costs. A written request for a subsidy must be transmitted to the CEP for processing and approval. The CEP then transmits the request to the Ministry of Finance. End note.) Edgar Leblanc, leader of ''Struggling People's Organization'' (OPL),insisted in a March 16 radio interview that the CEP define criteria for political party financing and urged the government to provide campaign subsidies. Leblanc said he plans to submit his party's formal request for a subsidy to the CEP, saying candidates need this money to prepare and distribute campaign posters. ¶4. (SBU) At the March 16 ceremony, CEP President Verret poured cold water on this idea, saying it was the government's responsibility, not the CEP's, to determine whether political parties would be financed, and if so, which ones. In a meeting on March 18 with key donors, Verret said the CEP has made no provision to finance campaigns. Verret said that none of the USD 5.5 million in GOH election funds will be allocated to political parties for campaign finance. He doubted the government has set aside any funds to provide candidates with subsidies. A Minor Campaign Clash in the Provinces -------------- ¶5. (U) As Senate candidates hit the campaign trail, some worry that the CEP's exclusion of many candidates, including all from Fanmi Lavalas (reftel),might result in harassment of approved candidates, or even cause public disturbances. Jean Fritz Laplanche, an OPL candidate for the Grand'Anse Senate seat, was harassed in the town of Pestel on March 14 by supporters of Guy Philippe, a suspected drug trafficker indicted in the U.S., whose candidacy the CEP rejected. Laplanche recounted to Poloff that on March 14, he was at home when he heard chants that no elections would occur in Pestel without Philippe's participation. Laplanche reported that attackers then ransacked his vehicle and stole money intended for his campaign. He later sought refuge in a church. Newly-Selected Communal Electoral Bureaus Face Criticism -------------- -------------- ¶6. (U) In Cornillon/Grand Bois (West Department),a crowd refused to allow the installation of the Communal Electoral Bureau (BEC) on March 14 and were dispersed by the police with teargas. Press reports say that the persons installed were different from those who won the original competition for these positions, and that political favoritism may have been at work. Deputy Gasner Douze (Fusion) called on the PORT AU PR 00000312 002 OF 002 public to mobilize against the ''farce'' of these elections and warned they would bring trouble. Deputy Esdras Fabien (Lespwa/Carrefour -- a suburb of Port-au-Prince) publicly questioned the credibility of the recruitment process for BEC members across the country and urged the CEP to address the situation. ¶7. (SBU) CEP President Verret told donors March 18 that although there had been procedural problems in the recruitment and selection of the members of the 140 BECs, all were installed as of March 13 and began training on March 18. (Note: International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) is training BEC members in the West Department that includes Port-au-Prince. End Note.) A MINUSTAH elections advisor told PolOff March 18 that he expects CEP oversight of the BECs to be minimal and doubts BECs will receive much guidance and support from the CEP in the lead up to Election Day. Where from Here? -------------- ¶8. (SBU) The CEP's opening the campaign and installing the BECs are the first solid indications that the election operations calendar for the April 19 elections is more or less on schedule. The CEP leadership appears firmly committed. ¶9. (SBU) Nevertheless, there remains much to do if elections are to be held April 19. The BECs and Department Electoral Bureau (BEDs) will need information and resources from the CEP to manage the technical and political issues that will inevitably arise between now and election day. National identification cards required to vote have not been fully distributed. The electoral list of eligible votes has not been finalized. The promised voter education and ''get out the vote'' campaign has barely started. Senate candidate for the West Department Evelyne Bernard Cheron told PolOff that there is little public enthusiasm for the upcoming elections. She said, ''People are hungry and have had a hard year.'' More will need to be done, she thought, to inspire an increasingly impatient public that electing twelve new senators will make a difference in their lives. Septel will give a more comprehensive view of the state of election preparations. SANDERSON