VZCZCXRO1408
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHNJ #0089/01 0760918
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 170918Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6784
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 1015
RUEHKI/AMEMBASSY KINSHASA 0184
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 0555
RUEHBZ/AMEMBASSY BRAZZAVILLE 0012

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 
 
NDJAMENA 00000089  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
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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. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
KOUCHNER:  ELECTIONS MUST BE HELD SHORTLY 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶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 
 
NDJAMENA 00000089  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
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. 
 
-------------------------------- 
DEBY WANTS ELECTIONS "THIS YEAR" 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶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. 
 
------------------------------------- 
USG SUPPORT FOR CHAD ELECTORAL REFORM 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶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 
 
NDJAMENA 00000089  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
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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