VZCZCXRO0911
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAR #0188/01 0371600
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061600Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY ACCRA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6102
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ACCRA 000188 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
DEPT FOR AF/W 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM GH
SUBJECT: ELECTORAL COMMISSION PREPARATIONS FOR 2008 ELECTION 
 
REF: 07 Accra 2599 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: In a January 16 meeting with Kwadwo 
Sarfo-Kantanka, Deputy Chairman of Ghana's Electoral Commission 
(EC), Sarfo-Kantanka said preparations for the election are going 
well and that the EC should begin to update the voter registers in 
March or April following the purchase of cameras to make voter ID 
cards.  Despite a polarized political climate in Ghana, 
Sarfo-Kantanka expects a peaceful election, commenting that New 
Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate Nana Akufo Addo's long-standing 
relationship with National Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate John 
Atta Mills should help the parties maintain decorum during the 
campaign.  Finally, despite EC research into the subject, 
Sarfo-Kantanka stated that there is little chance that overseas 
voting - a controversial issue in Ghana - would be implemented in 
time for the 2008 elections. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) POL Chief met January 16 with Sarfo-Kantanka, Deputy Chairman 
of the Ghana Electoral Commission in charge of Operations, to 
discuss preparations for the 2008 Presidential and Parliamentary 
elections, due to take place on December 7.  Sarfo-Kantanka 
characterized preparations as positive, noting that the key 
challenge for the EC at this stage is updating voter registers to 
include potential voters who have turned 18 since the last election, 
and citizens who were not previously registered. 
 
Updating Voting Registers 
------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) A key problem in updating the registers had been the fact 
that the Polaroid cameras previously used by the EC to produce voter 
ID cards have been made obsolete since the last election and film is 
no longer available.  However, Sarfo-Kantanka said the EC has put 
out solicitations for new digital cameras and mobile workstations. 
The EC plans to purchase about 1600 digital cameras (NOTE: with 
approximately 21,000 polling stations in Ghana and an average of 
four polling stations per "electoral area," the EC will allocate 
roughly one camera/workstation for every electoral area. END NOTE). 
 
¶4. (U) Once cameras and workstations are procured, and personnel 
trained in their use, the EC will begin revising the voter registers 
by replacing lost voter IDs.  This will be followed by the 
registration of new voters in a separate exercise.  The updating 
process should begin, according to Sarfo-Kantanka, in March or 
April.  By the end of April, the EC hopes to have obtained the data 
for the registers, and in July it will exhibit the registers for 
corrections.  The deadline to print final registers is November 26, 
and the vote is scheduled to take place on December 7. 
 
Recruiting and Training Election Officials 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (U) Sarfo-Kantanka said the EC would hire approximately 100,000 
temporary workers (approximately five per polling station) to assist 
with the election.  Given the EC's experience managing four previous 
elections in Ghana, it plans to draw heavily from individuals who 
have worked in past elections and expects little difficulty with 
this process. 
 
¶6. (U) Nevertheless, Sarfo-Kantanka said recruitment and training of 
"returning" officers (officials responsible for overseeing the 
election returns at polling stations) would take place in mid-July. 
The EC will interview potential officers, and publish the names of 
these officials to provide the various political parties with an 
opportunity to object.  The EC will have one returning officer and 
two deputies for each of Ghana's 230 parliamentary constituencies. 
 
"Temperature" Rising, but EC Expects Peaceful Election 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Sarfo-Kantanka admitted that in Ghana's polarized political 
environment, the "temperature is rising" significantly as the 
election approaches.  He said the EC plays an important role in 
attempting to diffuse this polarization, including through the 
Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC).  He admitted that the EC 
could do more to use this mechanism to reduce tension, and said the 
EC is looking at options. 
 
¶8. (SBU) However, Sarfo-Kantanka noted that Nana Akufo-Addo, the New 
Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate for President, and John Atta Mills, 
the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) were schoolmates, 
and said he expects them to conduct themselves "with decorum."  He 
added that he expects the 2008 election to be peaceful.  Despite NDC 
claims, he said, the system works well and "cannot be cheated." 
 
NPP Congress 
------------ 
 
¶9. (SBU) Sarfo-Kantanka mentioned that he had supervised the voting 
at the NPP Congress that took place on December 22, 2007 to elect 
the party's presidential candidate, and was highly critical of the 
 
ACCRA 00000188  002 OF 002 
 
 
disorganization that disrupted the Congress.  He said he almost 
removed EC personnel during the confusion that followed allegations 
of vote buying during the Congress by supporters of former Trade 
Minister Alan Kyerematen.  This confusion held up voting for about 
one hour. (Reftel) 
 
ROPAA and Overseas Voting 
------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) With regard to the Representation of the People's 
Amendment Act, a controversial law that would allow Ghanaian 
citizens residing abroad to vote in Ghanaian elections, 
Sarfo-Kantanka said the EC had visited a number of countries, 
including the Botswana, the Netherlands, Philippines, South Africa, 
and Mali, to examine how those countries conduct overseas voting. 
Sarfo-Kantanka said the EC had "done a lot of work," to put together 
a regulatory framework for overseas voting that will soon be sent to 
Parliament. 
 
¶11. (SBU) When overseas voting is implemented, Sarfo-Kantanka said 
the EC is proposing that Ghana's Embassies and diplomatic personnel 
play a central role.  However, he noted that due to opposition 
concerns, the regulation would exclude political appointee 
ambassadors from the process, and instead confine voting 
administration to career diplomatic personnel. 
 
¶12. (SBU) Sarfo-Kantanka noted that the EC budget for 2008 does not 
provide for overseas voting, and admitted that overseas voting will 
not occur for Ghana's 2008 election.  However, he acknowledged that 
this has been controversial, and that the EC has carefully avoided 
public discussion of the issue. (NOTE: This has been strongly 
supported by the ruling NPP, but uniformly opposed by Ghana's 
opposition parties, who contend that the NPP will use overseas 
ballots to manipulate the election. END NOTE). 
 
EC Budget 
--------- 
 
¶13. (U) In late 2007, Parliament approved GHC 36.8 million (about 
USD 38.7 million) for the EC in 2008 and recommended that the 
government increase this amount.  A Deputy Clerk of Parliament has 
informed us that discussions are taking place for a supplementary 
budget for the EC to be submitted to parliament soon.  The 
government cut the original EC budget request by about 20 percent. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) The delay in EC efforts to revise the voter registers has 
been a sore spot for opposition parties - particularly the NDC - who 
claim that previous registration lists undercounted voters in their 
strongholds.  Nevertheless, it is encouraging that the EC is now 
moving forward with a timeline for registration and other 
preparations for the 2008 elections, and the EC appears confident 
that it will meet its deadlines. At this stage it is unclear how the 
budget shortfall will affect these plans, and what resources will be 
requested from foreign donors. END COMMENT. 
 
BRIDGEWATER