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RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHMOS RUEHPA
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R 201341Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5273
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0207
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0238
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 0394
RUEHBAD/AMCONSUL PERTH 0202
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 0150

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NOUAKCHOTT 000317 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/19/2016 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PINR EAID KPAO MR
SUBJECT: NATIONAL CENSUS AND VOTER REGISTRATION UPDATE 
 
REF: NOUAKCHOTT 200 
 
Classified By: Amb. Joseph LeBaron, Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) 
 
-------------- 
(C) Key Points 
-------------- 
 
-- The census and voter registration drive, which began 
February 16 and was scheduled to end March 17, will be 
extended an additional 45 days, until April 30, to allow for 
additional registrations. 
 
-- Ambassador's recent trip to northern Mauritania to meet 
with several regional census teams, and a recent observation 
mission by PolOff in the capital itself, has conveyed strong 
USG interest in the census and voter registration drive. 
 
-- The transitional government has made a very good effort to 
inform Mauritanians throughout the country about the census, 
including commissioning a special song to get Mauritanians to 
participate in the census and voter registration drive. 
Ambassador heard the song several times on national radio 
during his four-day trip. 
 
-- For those who do apply for ID cards, they usually receive 
them within three to four days, thanks to a well-organized 
and efficient ID card production center. 
 
------------ 
(C) Comments 
------------ 
 
-- While accusations of irregularities persist, the census 
officials whom Ambassador and PolOff talked to demonstrated 
an organized strategy for the census and voter registration 
effort. 
 
-- It is too early, however, to project the success of that 
effort. 
 
End Key Points and Comments. 
 
¶1. (U) Ambassador met with four census teams during a 
four-day swing through northern Mauritania March 13-16, 
visiting provincial capitals and several major towns and 
large villages.  Concurrently, PolOff participated in two 
days of observations in the Nouakchott and Brakna regions 
March 13-14 organized by the local UN Secretariat for 
Electoral Assistance.  Ambassador and PolOff separately 
talked to census takers and examined voter registration 
lists.  PolOff witnessed voter registrations and toured the 
National ID production center.  The census, which will be 
used to create a national voters list, began February 16 and 
was scheduled to end March 17, but was extended 45 days to 
allow for additional registrations.  The door-to-door census 
canvassing will now end March 31, with citizens able to 
continue registering at regional registration centers until 
April 30. 
 
----------------------------- 
PUBLIC AWARENESS AND OUTREACH 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) On the whole, the transitional government appears to 
be making a strong effort to conduct an accurate census of 
eligible Mauritanian voters.  Nevertheless, some Mauritanians 
outside the capital Nouakchott appear to be poorly informed 
about the census and coming elections, even though a national 
voter education drive has been launched by the transitional 
government, which includes a specially-written song to 
encourage citizen participation.  The government is also 
using cell phone text messages and the official newspaper to 
spread the word. 
 
¶3. (C) Nevertheless, a significant number of citizens outside 
of Nouakchott appear to be unaware of how to get a National 
ID card -- required for registration.  When census takers 
arrived to register these citizens, they had to explain to 
them the process for applying for an ID card, and how they 
could later register for the census.  Many citizens 
complained that they lacked sufficient time to apply for the 
 
NOUAKCHOTT 00000317  002 OF 002 
 
 
ID cards and register before the census' scheduled March 17 
close.  The six week extension to the census will provide 
sufficient time for these citizens to apply for a card and 
register, but will likely not help many of the other citizens 
without ID cards that the census workers have not yet reached. 
 
¶4. (C) While Nouakchott residents were better informed than 
rural residents on how to obtain ID cards, both groups lacked 
information on the coming elections, including the 
Constitutional Referendum scheduled for June 24.  Residents 
did not know when elections were scheduled to occur or even 
how many were planned. 
 
--------------------------------- 
LOCAL AREAS TAKING THE INITIATIVE 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) While the transitional government has taken only 
preliminary -- and unfocussed -- steps towards informing the 
public, certain regions have taken the initiative and have 
begun implementing their own outreach strategies.  The 
regional electoral commission in the Dar Naim commune of 
Nouakchott has produced and distributed informational flyers 
explaining the census process and the steps to request a 
National ID card, while the Wali -- government appointed 
governor -- in the southern Brakna region has held dozens of 
meetings with residents, Imams and political parties to 
answer questions and develop public outreach campaigns. 
 
¶6. (C) Additional local initiative has been demonstrated by 
regions which have used mobile teams to provide National ID 
cards in remote areas where citizens might otherwise not be 
able to reach the permanent ID card application offices 
located in the main cities.  Such a mobile team has been used 
in the Brakna region to provide hundreds of ID cards to 
residents in remote areas. 
 
----------------------------------- 
PROVIDING 200,000 NATIONAL ID CARDS 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Though the government has struggled to inform the 
public about National ID cards, they have succeeded in 
quickly providing such cards once requests are received.  The 
National ID card production center is well-organized and 
efficient.  With a maximum capacity of 10,500 cards issued 
daily, the center averages a turnaround of three to four days 
from the time the citizen submits a request to the time they 
receive their card.  The center employs redundant data entry 
standards to eliminate entry error, and uses software to 
identify and eliminate multiple ID card requests. 
 
¶8. (C) While we continue to hear accusations of 
discrimination in the registration of Afro-Mauritanians and 
the mass movement of citizens to register in strategic areas 
away from their homes, PolOff saw no evidence of such acts 
during his observations.  However, it is unlikely that such 
acts would occur with embassy or UN observers present. 
LeBaron