VZCZCXRO8958
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLU #0444/01 1281441
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081441Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY LUANDA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3941
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUANDA 000444 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR USAID - EGAC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PHUM AO
SUBJECT: ANGOLAN NGO GIVES REGISTRATION PROCESS HIGH MARKS 
 
REF: LUANDA 00328 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: The Angolan Electoral Platform, a group of 
civil society election observers, gave the voter registration 
process high marks when it publicly announced results of its 
months long monitoring observations.  Observers were 
routinely accorded access to registration centers; found that 
voters understood the process; the actual registration was 
conducted efficiently even utilizing personal witnesses in 
absence of documentation; and found political party monitors 
present in almost all registration stations.  Glitches noted 
were mostly related to technical difficulties or the failure 
to produce required documentation.  GRA officials have been 
very receptive to the Electoral Platform,s findings and are 
examining ways to work with it as the process continues. 
Embassy Luanda commends the National Democratic Institute on 
its capacity building with the Electoral Platform in 
electoral process and monitoring training for its members. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Background: The Electoral Platform, an umbrella 
organization for election-related civil society organizations 
in Angola, collected data from its election observers between 
the start of voter registration on November 15, 2006, through 
March 30, 2007.  The Platform utilized 169 observers to cover 
registration stations in 42 municipalities in 11 different 
provinces.  Each observation period lasted a minimum of one 
hour, after which the observer completed a standard form and 
submitted it to their local civil society organization.  The 
observation statistics detailed below are based on 2780 
documented observations at 280 registration stations.  The 
Platform receives funding, training, and technical assistance 
from the National Democratic Institute (NDI), a USAID 
implementing partner. End Background. 
 
The Big Picture 
--------------- 
¶3. (U) Overall the voter registration stations were ranked 
"good" or "very good" in 86.6 percent of the site visits. 
Only 0.8 percent received a ranking of "very poor."  The 
Platform also stated that 72.3 percent of observed voters had 
a good understanding of the registration process.  Overall, 
44 percent of those registered were women, with 54.9 percent 
in rural areas.  However, in February only 31 percent of 
observed registrations were for women. The GRA's efforts 
during Marco Mulher (reftel) raised that number to 38 
percent.  Almost 27 percent of registration officials and 34 
percent of the election observers were women. 
 
¶4. (U) In most cases, observers were given access to 
registration stations and allowed to freely observe the 
registration process.  The median registration time for the 
147,043 observed registrations was eight minutes per person, 
or a rate of 30 people per hour.  A police presence was noted 
in 85 percent of the total site visits, but the percentage 
was notably higher in rural areas, at 91.3 percent. 
Political party election monitors were also present during 99 
percent of the site visits and between four and nine monitors 
were present during 60 percent of the visits.  Per Angolan 
law, undocumented eligible voters can use known witnesses, 
generally clergy or local leaders, to verify citizenship. 
This was important in rural areas, where witness testimony 
was used in 59.2 percent of cases, vs. only 16.6 percent in 
urban areas. 
 
Glitches and Hitches 
-------------------- 
¶5. (U) Only 8.4 percent of the total site visits noted delays 
in the registration process, but in the rural border 
provinces of Zaire (north) and Kwando Kubango (south) over 20 
percent of cases had noted delays.  Delays were generally 
caused when registration officials questioned identification 
documents or when political party monitors either didn't have 
or refused to present their credentials.  Technical problems 
were also an issue; in 15 percent of site visits observers 
noted interruptions in work due to technical problems. 
 
Recommendations and Results 
------------------------------ 
¶6. (U) The Platform presented in findings at a press 
conference and recommended that the GRA implement SADC 
standards for elections in order to strengthen the electoral 
process and increase transparency.  It reminded electoral 
officials to follow the Code of Conduct outlined by the 
National Electoral Commission and to encourage women to 
register and work for registration stations.  It also 
encouraged political parties to provide more training for 
their party monitors on the electoral laws and process, as 
the report classified such knowledge as "weak" during many 
site visits.  The Platform asked all civil society and church 
 
LUANDA 00000444  002 OF 002 
 
 
organizations to continue their civil education projects, and 
asked donors to support the efforts of Angolan civil society 
to stabilize democratic institutions and ensure free and fair 
elections. 
 
¶7. (SBU) After the results were released, the Director of the 
Inter-Ministerial Commission for the Electoral Process (CIPE) 
Virgilio de Fontes Pereira called Platform leaders in to 
discuss the press conference and observation results. 
Platform Director Mathias Capapelo told Poloff that Pereira 
was pleased by the positive contribution that civil society 
had made and asked for more data as it becomes available. 
The two also discussed challenges faced by the Platform, 
namely the lack of funding and resources, and ways in which 
the GRA may be able to partner with and support the 
Platform's efforts.  No funding or support commitments were 
made at the meeting, and discussions continue. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Comment: While the Platform's organized study of the 
registration process is a landmark for the development of 
Angolan civil society, a lack of capacity and funding is 
limiting its effectiveness and growth.  Of the 381 stations 
open during this observation period, observers were only able 
to reach 280.  The vast majority of these were in urban 
areas, as observers lack the logistical resources to reach 
rural areas.  For example, in Huila Province, observers only 
reached six of fourteen municipalities and the majority of 
site visits were made in the Provincial capital of Lubango. 
Capapelo and the Platform now must determine if possible 
government funding, which would allow the group greater reach 
if it were made available, will jeopardize its independence 
and impartiality.  Embassy also notes that NDI has provided 
excellent capacity building to the Platform in training its 
monitors, and developing its ability to carry out this type 
of data compilation.  End Comment. 
FERNANDEZ