VZCZCXRO1711
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1014/01 1901132
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081132Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1266
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001014 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KSCA OTRA EAID CDC SU
SUBJECT: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FINALLY PASSES ELECTION LAW 
 
REFS: A) Khartoum 942 
B) Khartoum 961 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  After weeks of delay, the Sudan National Assembly 
(NA) finally passed the electoral law July 7, capping a contentious 
special legislative session called specifically for the purpose of 
passing the law.  The law provides the legal groundwork for holding 
nationwide elections in 2009, as required under the terms of the 
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).  The bill as passed largely 
reflects a deal worked out between the NCP and the SPLM (details Ref 
A).  However, during the legislative debate, the threshold for 
parties to be represented in the NA was reduced from five to four 
percent in an attempt to placate the smaller parties.  The bill 
provides for 25 percent of the seats to be allocated to women, who 
will be nominated and presented on a separate list.  The next step 
towards the elections is for the President to appoint (and the 
National Assembly to approve) the nine members of the new National 
Electoral Commission (NEC), which is to organize the elections.  The 
NA is expected to be called back in a special session to approve the 
President's nominees.  END SUMMARY 
 
BILL PROVIDES FOR HYBRID VOTING SYSTEM 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) The NA approved the bill with 350 yes votes from the 366 
members present.  Fifteen voted no, most of them from the NDA. 
Dirdeiry Mohamed Ahmed, NCP MP and member of the National 
Constitutional Review Commission, told Embassy that the passage of 
the law marks one of the most significant milestones to date for CPA 
implementation.  As passed July 7, the bill provides for a hybrid 
voting system, with 60 percent of seats to be decided by a 
first-past-the-post basis, and the remaining 40 percent determined 
by proportional voting.  The proportional vote will take place at 
the state level, representing a concession by the NCP to the SPLM. 
These provisions were contained in the deal worked out between the 
SPLM and the NCP. 
 
CHANGE FAILS TO PLACATE SMALLER PARTIES 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Smaller parties had said they were generally content with 
NCP-SPLM compromise.  However, during the legislative session three 
parliamentary blocs - the National Democratic Alliance, Darfur 
peace, and the Eastern Front -- continued to press 43 points of 
disagreement with the draft.  There was talk of walking out of 
voting if their concerns were ignored.  In an attempt to bring the 
smaller parties on board, the NA amended the draft, lowering the 
threshold for parties to obtain representation in the Assembly from 
five to four percent of the vote. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The gesture failed to satisfy many of the smaller parties. 
 Ali Traio of the SLM, Minni Minawi's Darfur party, told Embassy 
that the NCP and the SPLM had used their mechanical majority to push 
the bill through the NA.  This procedure was also criticized by 
Fadlalla Borma of the National Umma Party, who complained to poloff 
it was "inconsistent with the interim constitution and the CPA."  He 
said that unless the party is convinced that the elections process 
is fair and just, "we are just going to boycott them." 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Other parties dismissed talk of an election boycott 
despite their dissatisfaction.  Tag Elsir M. Saleh, Deputy Secretary 
General of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), said the law as 
passed represents a compromise between the two main parties (SPLM 
and NCP), but added that this compromise was good for the country. 
"We support the agreement," he said, adding that the DUP had been 
able to convince some of the smaller parties in the NA not to walk 
out of the voting, "and that is an achievement."  Youssef Siddiq, 
Deputy Secretary General of the Sudan Communist Party (SCP), told 
the Embassy his party would not boycott the election even though the 
party's demands had not been met in drafting the law.  He said the 
SCP would now concentrate on working to create conditions for a free 
and fair election.  "Reviewing the national security law, the press 
law and all other freedom laws is a top priority," he continued, "we 
hope that the government includes all political parties in solving 
the Darfur problem before the elections." 
 
WOMEN TO BE GUARANTEED REPRESENTATION 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Under the new law, women are guaranteed 25 percent of the 
seats in the NA.  This will be accomplished through a separate 
voting list.  This provision went against one of the main objections 
by the smaller parties, who had demanded a unified list containing 
men and women together, according to Atem Garang (SPLM), Deputy 
Speaker in the National Assembly. 
 
NEXT HURDLE - APPOINTMENT OF NEC 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) The draft law now goes to the Council of States for a review 
to make sure it does not conflict with state legislation.  This step 
is largely a formality, however, said Manoa Aligo, leader of the 
 
KHARTOUM 00001014  002 OF 002 
 
 
SPLM Caucus in the NA.  Aligo predicted the draft would land on the 
President's desk within a week for his signature.  Once he signs, 
the bill becomes law - at which point he has 30 days to appoint the 
nine members of the NEC.  The NA then must approve the nominees with 
a two-thirds majority.  While the NA is now in summer recess until 
October 13, NA Speaker Ibrahim Akhmed al-Tahir, said the Assembly 
would probably be called into special session in August to approve 
the nominees.  Fast approval is key to keeping the nationwide vote 
on schedule, since the NEC has the task of organizing the 
elections. 
 
¶8. (U) There has been speculation that the SPLM and the NCP would 
agree on a list of NEC candidates for the President to choose from, 
but Aligo said that has not happened.  In public statements, the 
smaller parties already have been pressing to be included in the 
nomination process, saying the NEC will be more credible if it were 
seen as being non-partisan and inclusive.  The SPLM's Aligo stressed 
that a major challenge will be securing adequate financing for the 
NEC.  Most Sudanese government commissions suffer from chronic lack 
of funding, he said. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) COMMENT: While the new election law has passed perhaps its 
biggest hurdle by being approved by the National Assembly, daunting 
challenges remain on the road to the 2009 elections.  Attention now 
turns to the nomination of the National Election Commission.  The 
two parties in the GNU would be wise to avoid the temptation to 
agree upon a list between themselves, but rather include some other 
political party representatives as well.  As NCRC member Dirdeiry 
stressed to the Embassy, the NEC will have to be widely perceived as 
non-partisan and inclusive if it is to enjoy the confidence of 
Sudan's citizens.  Post will remain engaged throughout this process, 
working with other concerned embassies to keep the long election 
process on track and on schedule.  The key challenge in our 
elections strategy will be obtaining access for NGO partners to work 
in the North, and we will continue to press the regime on this 
point, though of course how willing they will be depends entirely on 
the evolving nature of our relationship with them. 
 
FERNANDEZ