VZCZCXRO6526
RR RUEHQU
DE RUEHPU #0217/01 0301728
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301728Z JAN 06
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2231
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 0923
RUEHWN/AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN 1469
RUEHKG/AMEMBASSY KINGSTON 1951
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 2417
RUEHBH/AMEMBASSY NASSAU 2650
RUEHSP/AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN 1604
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 0759
RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO 0345
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0247
RUEHQU/AMCONSUL QUEBEC 0364
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0802

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 000217 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR 
DRL 
S/CRS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR 
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) 
TREASURY FOR JEFFREY LEVINE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM PKAO HA
SUBJECT: HAITI ELECTION DAY PROCESS AND PLANS 
 
¶1. Introduction: This cable outlines the process for election 
day including: opening and closing of voting centers; public 
transportation; the steps to casting a vote; transporting the 
results to Port-au-Prince for tabulation; and releasing the 
results to the public.  End Introduction. 
 
¶2. Schedule for Voting Centers 
------------------------------ 
 
- 5:00 a.m.: 38,000 voting center personnel arrive at voting 
centers. 
- 5:00 a.m. - 6:00 a.m.: Personnel set up voting 
- 6:00 a.m.: Voting opens 
- 4:00 p.m.: Voting closes (any voters already in line at 
1600 will be allowed to vote) 
 
¶3. Public Transportation Available 
---------------------------------- 
 
The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) and IGOH plan to 
allow public transportation on election day, but have not 
decided how to handle private vehicles.  CEP Director General 
Jacques Bernard believes private vehicles used for carpools 
should be permitted to facilitate middle class voting. 
MINUSTAH, the HNP, and UNPOL plan to set-up perimeters around 
each voting center to prevent traffic from clogging the 
centers, but have not finished working out the details of the 
plan.  MINUSTAH elections officials have also requested that 
the IGOH prohibit all traffic after voting to facilitate 
results transportation and augment security. 
 
¶4. Steps to Casting a Vote 
-------------------------- 
 
- Voting site (BV) First Secretary checks voter IDs at the 
door to the BV and directs them to the president of the BV. 
- BV President examines both of the voter's hands to make 
sure there is no mark indicating they have already voted. 
- BV President finds voter's name, photo (identical to the ID 
card photo) and ID number on the partial electoral list (LEP). 
- Voter signs next to their name on the LEP. 
- BV Vice President gives the voter a ballot for 
presidential, senatorial and deputy races. 
- BV Vice President explains that the voter can choose one 
president, three senators, and one deputy. 
- BV Vice President explains that voter should fold ballot as 
soon as he votes to keep his decision private. 
- Voter casts vote at table divided in four by a cardboard 
divider. 
- BV Second Secretary helps voter place ballots in boxes 
corresponding to each race, but does not touch ballots. 
- BV Second Secretary marks voter's thumb nail with indelible 
marker. 
 
¶5. Counting the Votes 
--------------------- 
 
- Vote count begins at 1600 or after all voters in line at 4 
p.m. have voted. 
- Candidate, party, national, and international observers 
monitor counting.  They will be asked keep a separate count 
to verify the official count before the BV president records 
the official results. 
- Beginning with the presidential race, the BV President will 
remove ballots from the ballot box one by one, calling out 
who the vote is for, if the ballot is blank, or if the ballot 
is undecipherable. 
- BV President will show the ballot to all observers so they 
can confirm his assessment. 
- BV Secretaries will sort the ballots by candidate. 
- Once all the ballots are removed from the box and sorted, 
the BV secretaries will count the votes for each candidate. 
 
PORT AU PR 00000217  002 OF 003 
 
 
- The votes will be counted again if any of the observers in 
the room disagree with the count. 
- Once, all the observers agree on the results, the BV 
president will fill out the tally sheet and place clear tape 
over the results on every carbon copy of the tally sheet. 
- BV Secretaries will seal all of the ballots in one of the 
ballot boxes. 
- BV President seals three tally sheets in envelopes, one for 
the communal electoral bureau (BEC), one for the departmental 
electoral bureau (BED), and one for the CEP as required by 
the electoral law. 
- BV President seals the tally sheet for the CEP as well as 
the time and attendance sheets for the poll workers in a 
tamper-proof plastic bag for delivery to Port-au-Prince. 
- A tally sheet is given to each of the two political parties 
with the most votes, and one is displayed publicly on the 
wall of the BV. 
- CEP staff accompany the results throughout the process; 
only Haitian elections workers are allowed to handle the 
results. 
- UN vehicles and in some cases rented animals carry the 
sealed results to UN departmental bases co-located with or 
close to the BEDs. 
- The UN will provide space in all vehicles carrying results 
(trucks and helicopters) for observers. 
 
¶6. Ballots Stored, Tally Sheets Transferred 
------------------------------------------- 
 
- CEP staff unloads the ballots and tally sheets at MINUSTAH 
departmental bases. 
- Ballots are locked in secure storage. 
- One copy of each tally sheet is sent to the relevant BEC, 
the BED, and the tabulation center in Port-au-Prince 
 
Note: Elections officials hope to transport tally sheets to 
the tabulation center in Port-au-Prince quickly.  However, 
they caution that because results transportation from some 
remote areas may be by donkey and some roads are nearly 
impassable in foul weather, it will likely take 3 - 5 days to 
count all of the results in Port-au-Prince.  End Note. 
 
¶7. Tabulating and Releasing the Results 
--------------------------------------- 
 
- CEP workers log in each tally sheet by their unique 
identification number as they arrive at the tabulation center 
(septel). 
- Each tally sheet is randomly assigned to an OAS/CEP-trained 
operator who enters the results into a computer. 
- The sheet is then passed to another randomly selected 
operator who enters the results a second time. 
- If the two entries do not match, the sheet is sent to a 
committee that examines the entered results and the tally 
sheet to verify the results. 
- The CEP will release results from the USAID-funded media 
center, but has not yet decided when they will begin to 
release results. 
 
Note: Members of the press, elections observers, and members 
of the diplomatic community will have access to the 
tabulation center throughout the counting process.  However, 
the tabulation center is divided into sections to prevent 
results from leaking before they are officially release by 
the CEP. End Note. 
 
¶8. Comment: It has taken many delay-filled months for 
MINUSTAH and the CEP to develop the electoral process, but 
the technical process for voting and tabulation is complete. 
Elections organizers still worry about personnel problems, 
traffic on election day, confused crowds at voting centers, 
and the potential for violence.  They also worry about 
 
PORT AU PR 00000217  003 OF 003 
 
 
politically motivated contestation after the election and 
potential spoilers.  This year's election day process will 
make fraud significantly more difficult than in past 
elections and should lead to a more credible result. 
CARNEY