VZCZCXRO7827
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAB #0611 2521646
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081646Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4521
INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS ABIDJAN 000611 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM IV
SUBJECT: CEI SAYS VOTER REGISTRATION WILL BEGIN SEPTEMBER 15 
 
REF: A. ABIDJAN 604 
     ¶B. ABIDJAN 595 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  President of the Independent Electoral 
Commission (CEI) Robert Mambe told Ambassador that the 
identification and voter registration processes will begin 
September 15.  Although not all 11,000 sites are ready, 
operations will begin in those sites that are and commence in 
others as they become ready to be used.  Mambe said all the 
material needed by technical operator Sagem has arrived. 
Mambe explained that identification and voter registration 
will last until the end of October and publication of the 
final electoral list is scheduled for November 15.  The 
commencement of identification and voter registration makes 
it more likely that elections could be held in 2008, even if 
the November 30 date is not observed.  End Summary. 
 
Starting Process September 15 
----------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) In a September 5 meeting, CEI President Mambe told 
Ambassador that the identification and voter registration 
processes will begin September 15 even if all the 11,000 
designated sites are not ready by that date.  Mambe explained 
that operations will start in the sites that are ready and 
will commence in additional sites as they become ready. 
According to Mambe, most sites need only minor work to be 
usable.  Mambe said all the material needed by technical 
operator Sagem to begin work (6,300 kits) has arrived in 
Abidjan.  Mambe attributed the delay in the commencement of 
identification and registration to difficulties encountered 
regarding the transportation of this material.  He 
acknowledged that the equipment needed to print the 
identification and electoral cards has not yet arrived in 
Cote d'Ivoire. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Mambe explained that a total of 35,000 staff will be 
needed to conduct the identification and voter registration 
process.  The CEI will recruit 17,000 of them and has already 
pre-selected 25,000 potential candidates.  All 25,000 
candidates will be trained next week and, based on results of 
tests that will be administered after the training, a final 
selection will be made. 
 
Election Timeline 
----------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Mambe explained that the identification and voter 
registration process will last until the end of October.  The 
final electoral list is scheduled as of now to be published 
on November 15, which means the official campaign period 
could only last 15 days.  Mambe noted that this timeframe 
might be compromised if there are a large number of 
challenges regarding the citizenship of persons on the 
electoral list.  Mambe said if it seems that the number of 
challenges cannot be resolved in the time available, the CEI 
will engage in discussions with all concerned parties and the 
international community regarding postponement of the 
November 30 date.  The 2000 electoral list forms the basis of 
the new list.  Mambe explained that challenges can only 
regard new voters (those who were 18 in 2000, but did not 
register and those who turned 18 since 2000) since all 
persons on the 2000 list will be considered Ivorian. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Mambe noted that, according to the Ouagadougou 
Political Agreement, once the final electoral list is 
published, the Council of Ministers must adopt a decree 
authorizing the issuance of new identification cards to all 
persons whose names appear on the final electoral list. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment. The commencement on September 15 of 
identification of the population and voter registration makes 
it more likely that elections could be held in 2008, even if 
the November 30 date is not observed.  Starting the process 
in some sites and then expanding it to all 11,000 designated 
sites resembles the process employed by the government for 
the "audiences foraines" (mobile courts that issued birth 
documentation).  The "audiences foraines" teams were not all 
deployed at the same time, but sequentially; the operation 
was not perfect, but it was a success and accepted by all 
political parties. 
 
NESBITT