VZCZCXRO7672
PP RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #2575/01 2650612
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 210612Z SEP 08
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5575
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 002575 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CRS 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE, AID/DCHA/DG 
NSC FOR JWOOD 
OSD FOR MCCGRAW 
CG CJTF-101, POLAD, JICCENT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV MASS AF
SUBJECT: IEC SCRAMBLING TOWARDS VOTER REGISTRATION OPENING 
DAY 
 
REF: A. KABUL 2551 
     ¶B. KABUL 2387 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Two weeks before the first phase of voter 
registration opens on October 6 in 14 provinces, the 
Independent Elections Commission (IEC) is scrambling.  Its 
field operations are up and running but hobbled by the still 
slow delivery of key equipment and supplies in some areas, 
including generators, vehicles, IT equipment, furniture and 
registration forms.  The voter education and outreach 
program, which includes a media campaign, as well as 
individual programs designed by local civic educators, mosque 
sermons, SMS messaging and small grants to NGOs, begins 
September 21.  Security planning is underway but slow.  ISAF, 
however, has made it clear it is prepared to do whatever is 
necessary to support the police on voter registration 
security.  The IEC and security agencies will test their 
emergency response capabilities September 24. 
 
IEC FIELD OPERATIONS MAKING DO 
 
¶2. (SBU) As noted in Ref A, Provincial Electoral Officers 
(PEOs) in the Phase I provinces are recruiting staff, 
coordinating with local security forces, and organizing for 
voter outreach.  The challenges enumerated by Logar PEO Fazly 
are typical: low pay and uncertain security slows staff 
recruitment, limited transportation decreases election 
workers' efficiency, inadequate office space and equipment 
limits progress and makes communication with IEC headquarters 
more difficult.  In Logar, Wardak, Nuristan, Kunar, and 
Ghazni some IEC officials have received threats and "night 
letters" and, as a result, some staff have resigned in Logar, 
Wardak, and Ghazni.  The IEC is not sure how it will fill 
these gaps.  Civic education and mobile registration teams 
appear particularly vulnerable to future security threats; 
they will travel in unmarked vehicles without security 
escorts and, if threatened, are instructed to contact the 
local police. 
 
¶3. (SBU) In Bamyan, Ghazni, Kapisa, and Parwan, the PEOs are 
making last minute adjustments to site locations, affecting 
the operational and security plans.  UNDP on September 18 
requested Afghan National Army (ANA) and ISAF air lift to 
Ghowr and Dai-Kundi provinces to ensure delivery of key 
materials in time for Phase I registration on October 6.  The 
UN continues to fill its technical advisor positions; this is 
a gradual process as there is a limited pool of qualified 
personnel.  In fact, the UN is experiencing a steadily 
building sense of urgency as it works to address challenges 
posed by organizational and operational bureaucracy, 
compressed timelines, recruitment of staff, and IEC delays in 
decision-making.  Nonetheless, the UN remains confident it 
can successfully navigate these obstacles to keep the overall 
process on track. 
 
PUBLIC OUTREACH STARTS SEPT 21 
 
¶4. (SBU) The IEC has trained some 1,500 local civic 
educators, who will begin to meet with voters in small groups 
and at community events beginning September 21, two weeks 
before Phase I registration opens.  On the same date, the IEC 
will launch its diverse media campaign, which will use mobile 
phone SMS messaging, a call-in hot line, documentaries, 
interviews, television, radio, newspapers, and billboards. 
The wildly popular Afghan Olympic Tae Kwon Do champion, 
Rohullah Nikpai, features prominently in the campaign, 
including billboard, TV and radio spots.  Separate campaigns 
target youth, women, disabled persons and the homebound.  The 
IEC will reach out to voters who already possess a card as 
well, using the slogans "Found it!" and "I have it!" to 
discourage such voters from trying to re-register. 
 
SECURITY PLANS ALMOST COMPLETE 
 
¶5. (SBU) The regional police, army, and ISAF commands will 
present their security plans to the combined commanders 
beginning September 20 and ending October 13, leaving scant 
 
KABUL 00002575  002 OF 002 
 
 
margin for error or adjustment.  (Additionally, there is no 
current plan for RC-West or 205th Corps to conduct brief 
backs; Ghowr is in RC-West and is in Phase I of voter 
registration.)  The IEC and the security agencies will 
jointly test their emergency response capabilities in a 
headquarters exercise on September 24.  The police appear to 
be using the urgency to launch on voter registration security 
to angle for additional communications equipment.  Police 
training for voter registration will be limited to a 
still-pending draft code-of-conduct manual.  As reported Ref 
B, the ANA is underenthusiastic about its role in voter 
registration security responsibilities.  COMISAF has made it 
clear that ISAF is prepared to do whatever is necessary to 
support the Afghan Ministry of the Interior as the lead in 
Voter Registration Security. 
 
WHAT WILL SUCCESS LOOK LIKE? 
 
¶6. (SBU) The measure of success for this voter registration 
update process will not be a statistic - a certain, magic 
number of new voters added to rolls.  There will be mistakes, 
imperfections, and perhaps some irregularities.  The IEC 
expects that, at least in the beginning, its centers will 
enroll a relatively low number of new registrants, as people 
are pre-occupied with more immediate concerns like 
unemployment and security than a still-distant election day. 
Data on the number of voters who need to register is 
extremely shaky, and the IEC is working with rough estimates. 
 If registration does prove slow, the IEC will leave the 
district centers open 30 days longer after each phase, or 
reopen registration in provincial capitals two months prior 
to election day. 
 
¶7. (SBU)  There will also be continued security threats, and 
there may be some violence.  The IEC's resolve is firm (Ref 
B.)  Against stiff odds, the measure of success will be how 
ordinary the process can be - that after years of war and 
amid an ongoing struggle for peace, Afghan citizens can queue 
up, fill in a form, and have a say in their future. 
 
DELL