VZCZCXRO1684
RR RUEHQU
DE RUEHPU #0336 0482051
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 172051Z FEB 06
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2406
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 0974
RUEHWN/AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN 1485
RUEHKG/AMEMBASSY KINGSTON 1965
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 2432
RUEHBH/AMEMBASSY NASSAU 2663
RUEHSP/AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN 1618
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 0824
RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO 0362
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 0264
RUEHQU/AMCONSUL QUEBEC 0411
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0847

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000336 
 
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: PRESIDENTIAL VOTE COUNT ENDED, OTHER COUNTING 
RESTARTED 
 
¶1. Summary: MINUSTAH reports that it has stopped counting 
presidential ballots, and Provisional Electoral Council 
Director General Jacques Bernard says the CEP will formally 
announce results soon.  Meanwhile, vote counting for the 
deputy and senate races began February 16; MINUSTAH has 
already finished counting 482 of the nearly 9,000 proces 
verbaux.  Based on the time they believe each step on the way 
to a second round will take.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. MINUSTAH contacts reported February 17 that 8,791 or 95.5 
percent of the proces verbaux have arrived at the Provisional 
Electoral Council (CEP) Vote Tabulation Center (VTC), and 
8,663 or 94.1 percent were counted.  Vote counting for the 
presidential race stopped as of early February 16, and 
MINUSTAH officials do not believe that it will restart.  CEP 
General Director Jacques Bernard reports that he will make a 
final announcement of the results shortly, which take into 
account the inclusion of blank ballots (reftel).  Bernard 
 
¶3. Vote counting for the Senate and Deputy races began 
February 16.  MINUSTAH officials say the process will be slow 
because the names for all the senate and deputy candidates 
are hand written and in different orders on each process 
verbal.  As of early February 17, they had entered 648 proces 
verbaux into the system and finalized 482.  They expect 
tabulation for Parliament to finish by February 26.  However 
a number of problems must still be worked out.  Some VTC 
staff went on strike on February 16 because they had not yet 
been paid.  UNDP promised VTC workers February 17 that they 
would be paid by February 17.  Further, the main 
international observer groups have stopped going to the VTC 
as have members of the CEP.  Though Bernard invited political 
party leaders to visit the VTC, the presence of international 
observers remains critical to maintaining the credibility of 
the counting process. 
 
¶4. MINUSTAH created February 16 a time line that placed the 
second round of elections on April 26.  The timeline projects 
that vote counting for the senate and deputy races will 
finish February 26.  Then it allows until the February 29 for 
a 72 hour contestation period with 12 days for the CEP to 
deliver decisions, provides two days for the CEP to deliver 
candidate lists to the departments, gives the CEP 24 days to 
print ballots, and provides 14 days for the CEP and MINUSTAH 
to deliver elections materials to the provinces.  CEP 
Director General told DCM February 17 that the original March 
19 date is still achievable. 
 
¶5. Comment: The new MINUSTAH timeline is heavily padded, 
though it reflects some realities of the process leading to 
the second round, some of its projections are based on old 
incarnations of the electoral law.  After an October 20 
amendment to the electoral law, the CEP is required to leave 
contestation open for 24, not 72 hours.  If any candidate 
contests the results of their race, the CEP is legally 
supposed to deliver a final response within ten days, not 
twelve.  Regardless, the CEP and MINUSTAH will have to move 
very expeditiously in order to hold the second round by mid 
to late March.  End Comment. 
CARNEY