VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPC #0329 1281204
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081204Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY LOME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7928
INFO RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 2131
RUEHCO/AMEMBASSY COTONOU 3938
RUEHOU/AMEMBASSY OUAGADOUGOU 8869
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0555

UNCLAS LOME 000329 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PARIS FOR GREG D'ELIA 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR KDEM TO
SUBJECT: TOGO - PROGRESS IN PREPARING 2007 LEGISLATIVE 
ELECTIONS 
 
¶1. Summary:  The GoT and the Electoral Commission, in 
consultation with the EU and UNDP, are moving ahead slowly 
with preparations for the legislative elections scheduled for 
June 24.  According to the press, few believe the June 24 
date will hold.  UNDP experts say elections are not possible 
before early September.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  On April 5, the GoT approved the CFA 18 billion (USD 36 
million) legislative elections budget presented by the CENI. 
The CENI received technical assistance from the UN 
Development Program (UNDP).  The GoT promised to cover about 
CFA 5 billion (USD 10 million) of the total amount, and the 
European Union promised Euros 12 million (USD 16 million). 
In addition, the National Assembly passed a bill that 
provides some financial support for political parties.  It 
also stipulates that political parties will receive bonuses 
based on the number of their female candidates elected to the 
National Assembly. 
 
¶3.  In compliance with the Global Political Accord signed 
last August, the GoT signed agreements with the Benin 
government and UNHCR-Benin and with Ghana government and 
UNHCR-Ghana on April 11.  With these agreements, the GoT 
promises to provide protection and community reintegration 
assistance to encourage the voluntary return of Togolese 
refugees, and to enable them to participate in the upcoming 
legislative elections. 
 
¶4.  The CENI has been making significant progress in 
preparing for the elections.  On March 8, in accordance with 
a point in the Global Political Accord, members of the CENI 
approved an internal election procedures manual.  It requires 
that members seek consensus in decision-making, rather than 
using majority rule.  At the end of March, 3,000 
computer-based electoral kits, borrowed from the Democratic 
Republic of Congo, arrived in Lome.  On April 3 and 4, three 
Belgian technical experts familiarized CENI members with the 
operation of the kits.  The instructors took them through 
each step of the registration process, from the arrival of 
voters at the registration center to the issuance of 
digitally-based paper voter registration cards. 
 
¶5.  On AprilQ0, the CENI organized aQress conference to 
inform the public about the new registration process with the 
electoral kits.  The process consists of entering the voter's 
information into the data base, taking a photograph and a 
fingerprint, printing the voter's registration card, 
protecting the card with lamination, and delivering it to the 
voter on-the-spot.  The CENI stated that it should take less 
than 10 minutes to issue each voter's card. 
 
¶6.  For the CENI, much work remains.  The CENI will 
officially install and train the 279 members of the local 
electoral committees (CELIs) and a larger number of 
registration officers on how to use the electoral kits and 
issue voter registration cards.  Training on registering a 
person will take about 45 minutes.  The CENI specified that 
2,500 electoral kits would be earmarked for voter 
registration.  The CENI believes that it could take about 
four weeks to issue cards to 2.3 million prospective voters, 
based on the number who voted in the April 2005 presidential 
election. (Note: Post thinks four weeks is extremely 
optimistic. End note.) The CENI will then need to train the 
CELIs and the voting office workers on how to administer a 
party-list representation system, to be used for the first 
time in Togo. 
 
¶7.  On April 19 Ambassador attended a meeting of 
representatives of the EU, Germany and France called by the 
Resident Representative of UNDP. UNDP election experts 
provided their candid assessment of the feasibility of having 
an election on June 24.  They advised that it would be 
difficult to imagine holding an election before early 
September. 
 
¶8.  Comment: The body politic does not seem to believe that 
elections will be held on June 24, nor does it seem 
particularly distressed at the possibility of slippage in the 
date.  The mandate for the current National Assembly expires 
in October so a postponement of elections to September will 
probably be generally accepted.  End Comment. 
 
 
DIFFILY