VZCZCXRO9132
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHLB #0569/01 1401732
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 201732Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4939
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3803
RHMFISS/USCENTCOM SPECIAL HANDLING MACDILL AFB FL
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 000569 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA 
ALSO FOR IO A/S BRIMMER 
P FOR DRUSSELL, RRANGASWAMY 
USUN FOR WOLFF/GERMAIN/SCHEDLBAUER 
NSC FOR SHAPIRO, MCDERMOTT 
DRL/NESA FOR WHITMAN 
OVP FOR HMUSTAFA 
STATE PASS USAID FOR LAUDATO/NANDY/SCOTT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM PINR LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON: MINISTER OF INTERIOR CONFIDENT ON 
ELECTORAL LOGISTICS, SECURITY 
 
REF: A. A. BEIRUT 263 
     ¶B. B. BEIRUT 247 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
¶1.   (SBU) In a May 19 meeting hosted by UN Special 
Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) Michael Williams, Minister 
of Interior Ziyad Baroud, the lead GOL official responsible 
for elections, provided a detailed update to the donor 
community on the preparations for the June 7 parliamentary 
elections.  While taking the opportunity to thank donors for 
the technical assistance provided, a confident Baroud 
stressed that preparations are completed and that the 
elections will be held on time.  Baroud assured the group 
that he is playing an effective and non-partisan role in 
ensuring that the June 7 parliamentary elections proceed 
smoothly.  Baroud expressed concern about the absence of a 
complete Constitutional Council, which would rule on 
electoral disputes, a concern also raised by several donors. 
End Summary. 
 
SCEC: LEBANON'S ELECTION SUCCESS STORY 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In a May 19 meeting attended by the DCM, Acting 
USAID Chief and Poloff, Minister of Interior Ziyad Baroud 
reassured the international donor community that the June 7 
parliamentary elections will be held as scheduled with no 
major obstacles.  Attending his second UN-hosted meeting 
since February, Baroud highlighted the formation of the 
Supervisory Commission for the Election Campaign (SCEC) as a 
success story for Lebanon, while noting that there are 
several areas that need improvement.  Considered by election 
experts as one of the most important reforms introduced in 
the new electoral law, the SCEC has commenced its tasks 
overseeing compliance with the electoral law,s various 
regulatory measures on campaign finance, spending, 
advertising, and media coverage.  The commission is a 
10-member body comprised of former judges, local Bar 
Association presidents, and media and election experts, with 
a mandate extending six months after election day. The 10 
members, led by President Ghassan Abu Alwan, a former judge 
on the court of cassation, were approved by the Cabinet last 
December. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) While touring the offices of the SCEC after the 
meeting, the group was able to observe the work of the media 
monitoring team, situated in a large room with approximately 
20 cubicles.  The media monitoring team, comprised of 
approximately 50 members, daily monitors 18 major TV 
stations, radio, websites, newspapers, and magazine 
advertisements related to the elections.   The monitors 
document the various election violations that occur and add 
it to an archive.  The SCEC released its first report of 
election violations on May 7.  The commission, according to 
Baroud, published in its first report only 10 percent of the 
amount of information that currently exists in the archive, 
and plans to release the remainder of the information, 
focusing primarily on media coverage and campaign finance 
monitoring, in its second and final report (due immediately 
after June 7). 
 
POLLING STATIONS ARE READY 
-------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) According to Baroud, the polling stations are fully 
set up around the country and are prepared for June 7.  The 
training of officials, observers, and journalists has begun. 
Approximately 10,500 polling station officers will be manning 
the stations in all 26 districts, and another 1,000 officers 
will be on reserve as standby.  Since polling officials will 
not be able to vote on the day of the elections, Baroud 
explained that they will have the opportunity to cast their 
ballots early on June 4.  One central polling station located 
in each district will open from 7 AM to 7 PM to receive these 
 
BEIRUT 00000569  002 OF 003 
 
 
individuals, and candidate representatives will be allowed to 
be present at the stations on that day.  The events on June 4 
will mimic the voting process on June 7; however, according 
to Baroud, the envelopes containing the votes from June 4 
will not be opened that day, but will be counted and then 
transported to the central counting stations in each 
district.  Baroud stressed that in order not to jeopardize 
the one-day voting process, all envelopes will be opened on 
June 7 after all polling stations have closed. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In addition, Baroud displayed to the group a sample 
ballot box that will be used for the elections.  The 
conventional box, about 12" X 20" and weighing approximately 
7 lbs, is formed from transparent white plastic and is 
provided with a hinged lid in which there is a slot for 
allowing ballot papers to be inserted.  These boxes, along 
with various election-related posters will be distributed to 
all polling stations the week of the elections.  He noted one 
poster that lists seven points in Arabic, English, and French 
instructing voters how to vote. 
 
NATIONAL ID CARDS/ VOTERS LIST 
------------------------------ 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The new electoral law allows voters to use either 
their national ID cards or their passports as acceptable 
forms of identification on election day, instead of the Voter 
ID card used in previous elections.  Baroud said that 
currently 245,000 national ID cards have been issued.  In a 
previous meeting, Baroud had explained to the Ambassador that 
600,000 national ID cards need to be printed before election 
day.  (Note:  As of February 13, only 100,000 national ID 
cards were printed.  With the rate of less than 50,000 ID 
cards printed each month, it is highly unlikely that the 
Ministry will hit the 600,000 mark by June 7.  End Note.) 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Baroud also explained that voters will be able to 
access the voters list on-line (www.elections.gov.lb) ahead 
of June 7 to verify that their name has been added to the 
list and to locate their polling station.  He noted that 
voters can only vote in these elections if their name is on 
the list.  This initiative, headed by the Ministry of 
Interior with technical assistance from IFES, marks the first 
time in Lebanon where voters can access their information 
on-line.  In a side conversation, IFES Country Chief Richard 
Chambers said that while the website is up and running, there 
are some logistical specifics that are still being worked on. 
 
 
UPDATE ON OBSERVATION MISSIONS 
------------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Baroud highlighted the importance of the Council of 
Ministers unanimously approving the decree to invite 
international observers, and said that he is pleased with the 
level of interest shown by the international community in 
observing the June 7 elections.  An "Observers Unit" was set 
up at the Ministry of Interior, and heads of the unit have 
been appointed.  Representatives from the three official 
long-term observation missions - the Carter Center, the 
European Union, and the National Democratic Institute - were 
present at the meeting.  Baroud explained that he is 
confident that all international and local experts in charge 
of monitoring the elections will abide by the Code of Conduct 
issued on May 5 by the Interior Ministry and will treat all 
candidates equally.  UNSCOL Williams added that the Arab 
League and the Turkish government, whose representatives were 
also present, also plan to send observation missions, but 
noted that formal decisions have yet to be finalized. 
 
SECURITY PLAN FOR JUNE 7 
------------------------ 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Baroud reiterated that a comprehensive security 
plan was adopted two weeks ago by the Central Security 
Council in preparations for the June 7 elections. The 
 
BEIRUT 00000569  003 OF 003 
 
 
security plan, which will oversee the organization of the 
Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), the Internal Security Forces 
(ISF), and the judiciary during the election process, calls 
for the creation of a Central Operation Group (COG) for 
security at the Ministry of Interior.  The COG will be linked 
to all operation groups in the 26 districts and will be 
headed by a lead manager.  The COG also will be linked to the 
national election hot-line, which not only receives 
election-related complaints, but will also direct any 
violence-related issues to the COG.  The four-digit hot-line 
number is active 24 hours a day and is manned by a 10-person 
team. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Baroud said that the security plan also calls for 
the organization of the ISF and LAF on elections day to be 
based upon a risk assessment analysis of every region in the 
country.  The assessments measure the degree of potential 
sectarian, political, or common election-related violence in 
each district. (Note: Although not publicly announced, the 
MOI has acknowledged to IFES privately that their security 
assessments are based on the risk assessment project 
administered by IFES and funded by the UK. End Note.)  The 
assessment is updated each week, and according to the 
results, ISF and LAF officials are distributed across the 26 
districts accordingly.  The final update will occur on June 3. 
 
CONCERNS ABOUT NO FINAL CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Baroud was very frank in expressing concern that 
the Cabinet (of which he is a member) has not reached an 
agreement on the appointment of the Constitutional Council, 
which is the sole authority that has the power to look into 
election-related complaints -- Ref. A and B.  Baroud stressed 
that the appointment of five remaining Constitutional Council 
members must be completed ahead of June 7 in order to 
guarantee "a smooth transition to the next phase."  He was 
critical of the view that resolving the impasse over Council 
membership can wait until after the election. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) Baroud, a veteran civil society activist who has 
been praised by the international community for his efforts 
towards electoral reform, was organized and confident in 
explaining the organizational scheme for the June 7 vote. 
Although the atmosphere in the room was positive and 
collegial, it was obvious that the issue of the remaining 
appointments on the Constitutional Council remains a concern 
among donors.  End Comment. 
SISON