VZCZCXRO5548
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1442/01 2551510
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 121510Z SEP 07
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8498
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001442 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF A/S FRAZER, AF S/E NATSIOS, AND AF/SPG 
NSC FOR PITTMAN AND HUDSON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAID SU
SUBJECT: CDA DISCUSSES ELECTIONS, DARFUR WITH KEY NCP 
ORGANIZER 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Democracy, Peace in Darfur Key to Better Relations 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶1. (SBU) In a meeting with National Congress Party (NCP) 
Chair for Mobilization Ibrahim Ghandour on September 12, CDA 
Fernandez underscored the importance of a transition to 
democracy in Sudan under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement 
(CPA), including free and fair elections in 2009.  Despite 
the difficulties in the bilateral relationship , CDA 
Fernandez said that the NCP had an opportunity to improve 
ties by demonstrating a commitment to the electoral process, 
a peaceful resolution of the Darfur conflict, and CPA 
implementation.  The U.S. wanted to support these efforts. 
It had lived up to its donor commitments from the 2005 Oslo 
conference and was the lead international coordinator for the 
census in Southern Sudan. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Progress on Elections Preparation 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Joined by former state minister from the Sudan 
People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) John Dor, State Minister 
for Information Farah Agar, and NCP Secretary for Women Afaf 
Ahmed Abdulrahman, Ghandour complimented CDA Fernandez on the 
"bridges" he had built since arriving to Sudan.  He said that 
the NCP had no interest in being an enemy of the greatest 
country on earth.  Sudan was "looking forward" to democratic 
and transparent elections and "would do its all to ensure 
their success."  While a perfect electoral system was 
impossible in Sudan's politically charged environment, 
Ghandour said there had been real progress on the electoral 
law.  Following review of the first draft by the Electoral 
Commission, the law would be sent to the National Assembly by 
mid-October for review.  Ghandour hoped that it would pass by 
mid-November. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Transparency in the development of the electoral 
system was essential to ensure wide participation in the 
elections, said Ghandour.  The recent elections in Morocco, 
where turn-out had been low, demonstrated that the public was 
not behind the reforms.  CDA Fernandez urged Ghandour to make 
the election process easy to understand and implement.  If 
the system was too complicated, the Sudanese public would 
feel disconnected from developments.  "It must be 
user-friendly for your constituency," said the CDA.  Ghandour 
said that the NCP had asked for input on the electoral system 
from the SPLM and the opposition parties and was engaged in 
discussions on a "first past the post" system versus 
proportional representation.  The NCP had endorsed a position 
of 40 percent popular vote and 60 percent proportional, 
according to Ghandour.  It had also forged an agreement on 
25-percent representation for women. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Responding to a question from CDA Fernandez, 
Ghandour said that the elections could not occur if the 
Darfur conflict persisted until 2009.  However, he predicted 
that the census could proceed in the region, as only three of 
the 48 localities in Darfur were affected by violence. 
Ghandour acknowledged that the Government of National Unity 
(GNU) needed to determine how to count internally displaced 
persons (IDPs).  However, he said that the NCP had made an 
internal party decision that "fighting groups," including 
those in Darfur or in the East, would not be excluded from 
the overall democratic process. 
 
------------------- 
Unreasonable Rebels 
------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) While noting that there had been progress on Darfur 
with the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1769, CDA 
Fernandez said that considerable work remained on the peace 
process and encouraged Sudan to be "generous and sensible" in 
its negotiations with the rebel movements.  Ghandour said 
that many of the rebels' demands, such as one region for 
Darfur and a vice presidency for a Darfurian, were 
unreasonable--and not supported by all of Darfur's people. 
"Individual compensation might also be a problem," said 
Ghandour, saying that long-term development projects for the 
region, supported by the international community, would be 
more feasible.  "We can't make all the rebel leaders vice 
president," he said. 
 
¶6. (SBU) CDA Fernandez agreed that some rebel demands were 
 
KHARTOUM 00001442  002 OF 002 
 
 
unworkable but said that the large question was how to 
involve the voices of the people of Darfur in the peace 
process.  He also warned of the prospect of a Darfur Peace 
Agreement (DPA) II, where only one faction of the rebel 
movements signs an agreement and "the war continues" as the 
hold-outs criticize the signatories for collusion with the 
Government.  Dor said that the ongoing violence was not due 
to a problem with the DPA but to leadership struggles within 
the rebel movements.  Abdelrahman noted that Sudan Liberation 
Movement (SLM) leader Abdulwahid Al Nur typified the Darfur 
rebels who were not interested in genuine peace. 
 
--- 
Bio 
--- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ibrahim Ahmed Abdelaziz Ghandour was born in 1952 in 
El Dueim, White Nile State.  A graduate of the Faculty of 
Dentistry at the University of Khartoum, Ghandour also holds 
a master's degree in public health from the UK.  He is known 
to be one of the most influential voices in the NCP.  In 
addition to his role as chairman of the mobilization 
committee, Ghandour is an NCP member of the National 
Assembly.  He is the president of the Sudan Dentists' 
Federation, former president of the Arab Dentists' 
Federation, president of the Workers' Trade Union Federation, 
vice president of the World Workers' Federation, and chairman 
of the Committee of Dentists in the Arab World.  He briefly 
served as vice chancellor of the University of Khartoum but 
left after opposition from the faculty.  Ghandour speaks 
fluent English.  He is married to three wives. 
FERNANDEZ