VZCZCXRO8948
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLU #0443/01 1281436
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081436Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3939
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 000443 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM AO
SUBJECT: GROUPS IN ANGOLA CALLING FOR EXTENDING VOTER 
REGISTRATION PERIOD 
 
REF: A. LUANDA 217 
 
     ¶B. LUANDA 163 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: With less than six weeks to the conclusion 
of the voter registration period on June 15 2007, opposition 
parties and other groups are publicly urging the government 
to extend the voter registration period, arguing that due to 
the poor road network and unusually heavy rainfall the 
majority of potential voters outside major cities and urban 
centers have not registered.  While the quality of the 
registration process has uniformly been viewed favorably, the 
pace has slackened and rural voters have not yet been given 
the opportunity to register.  The rainy season has made 
registration logistics more difficult and it is unclear that 
the GRA will be able to reach these rural voters in a timely 
manner.  Extending the voter registration period by a several 
months would not jeopardize the possibility for a summer 2008 
election, but given the lack of an election timetable, it 
could undermine the people's credibility in elections.  End 
Summary. 
 
June 15 Approaching too Quickly 
------------------------------- 
¶2. (SBU) What started as a call by minor opposition parties 
to extend elections, has now gained support of other more 
credible political parties and prominent individuals to 
extend the voter registration period, currently set to end on 
June 15, 2007.  Beginning on April 13, 2007, the Council for 
Opposition Parties &CPO8 was the first to request that the 
government consider the possibility of extending the 
registration period until March 2008, to enable the yet to be 
accessed rural potential voter to register (NOTE: The CPO is 
a conglomeration of 35 small parties with no parliamentary 
representation nor any sign of commanding a potential 
electoral group. Their call to extend the registration period 
is also a thinly disguised opportunity to garner more 
funding.  The GRA supported all parties, regardless of size, 
with funding for their monitoring activities (reftel B) and 
might be expected to provide additional funding were the 
election period to be extended.  END NOTE). 
 
¶3. (U) In response to the CPO,s request the head of the 
Electoral Implementing Commission (CIPE), Virgilio de Fontes 
Perreira stated that the government believes the registration 
process is still on course, confirming that over 4 million of 
the 7.5 million estimated potential voters have been 
registered.  The government plans on increasing the number of 
registration brigades from the current 381 to 509 making them 
available throughout the 164 municipalities that make up 
Angola,s local government districts.  However, Perreira said 
that the government would not completely exclude the 
possibility of an extension, if by May 15, the numbers 
indicate the government is falling behind the estimated 
target.  He reiterated that the government is still working 
towards the goal of concluding the registration period on 
June 15. 
¶4. (U) On April 19, Jorge Kengule, president of the 
AD-Coalition, a party with one seat in parliament advocated 
for a six month extension until December 2007.  On April 21, 
FNLA interim president Ngola Kabangu called on the government 
to work with political parties to attain a consensus on the 
best date to conclude the voter registration period.  On 
April 27, PRS Parliamentarian Bernardo Lindo Tito urged the 
government to extend the registration period, due to climatic 
and infrastructure delays.  The MPLA,s youth wing has also 
called for an extension, and others are jumping onto the 
extension bandwagon. 
 
Process Getting High Marks, but Progress Slow 
--------------------------------------------- 
¶5. (SBU) Most independent groups and even the major 
opposition parties agree that the voter registration process 
has been conducted fairly.  The National Platform NGO, which 
conducts registration monitoring recently released data 
summarizing its monitoring activities and gives the process 
high marks (septel).  However, there is concern that at the 
current pace the government won,t be able to reach all 
eligible voters by June 15.  Unusually heavy rains have made 
deployment of registration brigades to rural areas outside 
either the provincial capitals or larger cities particularly 
difficult.  Further, as the brigades go further outside the 
towns and cities, more of the working day will be consumed by 
transportation time than by actual registration hours, 
effectively limiting the brigades, productivity.  In 
addition, the government hasn,t provided a full schedule for 
registration brigade deployment to rural communities.  Note: 
This is probably due to lack of capacity in logistics 
planning.  However, the CIPE will need to plan to take 
advantage of the dry season.  End note. 
 
LUANDA 00000443  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
Political Will 
-------------- 
¶6. (SBU) COMMENT: The minor opposition parties are 
particularly interested in extending the registration period 
in the hope of securing more funding from the government, 
given their USD 200,000 payment per party in early 2007 
(reftel B).  However, there are now a number of reasonable 
voices joining the chorus for extending the time frame.  At 
the current pace, the government will not be able to reach 
all 7.5 estimated voters by June 15.  While the CIPE has 
expanded hours and days for registration it still has not 
deployed the entire number of brigades (381 of 509) hired. 
In addition, despite its fully computerized registration 
system, the CIPE has released very few registration 
statistics in the last two months making it  extremely 
difficult to track the campaign,s progress, or lack thereof, 
across the provinces. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Government and opposition alike agree that the full 
pool of eligible voters must be given an opportunity to 
register.  The reason for the consensus is historical as many 
blame the renewed fighting after the 1992 elections on the 
fact that rural voters, thought to mostly support UNITA, were 
purposefully under-represented.  NGO's and opposition groups 
are concerned, however, that a delay in registration could be 
used as an excuse to delay the elections and thus undermine 
voter confidence in the electoral process.  There is general 
agreement that voter registration could be extended by 
several months without jeopardizing a summer 2008 election 
date, but it is unclear what a prolonged delay would do to 
the election's credibility.  Local actors are trying to 
impress on the GRA that by prolonging the registration period 
without announcing an electoral timetable, it becomes almost 
impossible to maintain credibility in the eyes of potential 
voters and the international community.  End Comment. 
FERNANDEZ