VZCZCXRO0789
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHNEH RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAH #1592/01 3431233
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081233Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1973
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 4577
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2381
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2246
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 2825
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 3131

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001592 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PHUM TX
SUBJECT: CIS ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION IN TURKMENISTAN 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  A 40-member CIS election observation 
mission will monitor the December 14 Parliamentary elections. 
 A group of six observers have been in Turkmenistan since 
November 25 to view election preparations.  The remaining 
members, including many election officials from CIS 
countries, will arrive a few days before the elections. 
Preliminary impressions of the pre-election phase were 
positive, with the Deputy Chief of the Mission noting that 
the technical basis for the elections was largely in place. 
According to the Deputy Chief, there was a diverse group of 
candidates, including two candidates nominated by independent 
groups of citizens.  The CIS mission's role was to evaluate 
the election's conformity with Turkmenistan's election laws. 
The Deputy Chief expected a post-elections recommendation to 
the Turkmen to regularize some inconsistencies between their 
election laws, but otherwise thought their laws are 
comparable with those of CIS countries.  He characterized the 
mission's role as to advise, not to judge.  END SUMMARY. 
 
FIRST CIS ELECTION MISSION IN TURKMENISTAN 
 
¶2. (SBU) On December 5, poloff met with the Deputy Chief of 
the CIS Election Observation Mission, Yevgeniy Sloboda, to 
discuss the upcoming parliamentary election and the observer 
mission's activities.  CIS election observation missions 
began in 2001 and work only within the CIS and only upon 
invitation.  This is the first time that there has been a CIS 
election observation mission in Turkmenistan, which Sloboda 
noted was a "voluntary government act that indicates a desire 
to develop a democratic society." 
 
¶3. (SBU) There will be 40 people in the CIS mission.  After 
the CIS Secretariat received the invitation from the GOTX, it 
sent letters to the foreign ministries of CIS members, asking 
them to send representatives as part of the observation 
mission.  The members of the mission were designated by the 
respective governments, not by the CIS Secretariat.  Among 
the members of the mission are the chairpersons of the 
Central Election Commissions (CEC) of Kazakhstan and 
Tajikistan, the secretary of the Belarus CEC and members of 
the CECs of Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan and Russia, as well as 
diplomats and parliamentary deputies from Uzbekistan, Belarus 
and Russia and the Tajik ambassador accredited to 
Turkmenistan.  Sloboda emphasized the professional 
qualifications of the observer team, consisting of 
individuals who organize or participate in elections in their 
respective home countries.  The head of the observer mission 
is CIS Executive Secretary Sergey Lebedev. 
 
INITIAL IMPRESSIONS ARE POSITIVE 
 
¶4. (SBU) A group of six observers arrived in Turkmenistan on 
November 25 as "long-term observers."  Their tasks included: 
completing accreditation documentation for the mission; 
evaluating election-related legislation in light of their 
professional expertise; examining media coverage of the 
election campaign; and visiting polling stations.  The 
remaining members of the mission will arrive two or three 
days before election day and will be dispersed in groups of 
six to all five provinces, focusing their efforts on the most 
populous areas.  On the morning of December 15, the CIS 
mission will hold a press conference and release its 
statement about the conduct of the elections.  Sloboda said 
they release the statement immediately following the election 
in order to maximize its relevance. 
 
¶5. (SBU) By way of initial impressions, Sloboda mentioned 
that the observers have had completely open access.  All 
polling stations have posters and information about the 
campaign.  Provincial newspapers published biographies and 
platforms of all candidates.  The Turkmenistan CEC had 
conducted training for all members of polling station 
committees.  The CIS observers had seen nothing to date that 
violated Turkmenistan's Election Law. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Sloboda commented that recent amendments to the 
 
ASHGABAT 00001592  002 OF 002 
 
 
Election Law had improved the law.  The role of international 
observers was strengthened.  The number of electoral 
districts was increased to 125, giving the legislative branch 
a more important role.  For the first time, Turkmen citizens 
abroad will be able to vote at Turkmenistan's embassies. 
Also for the first time, pre-trial detainees have been given 
the right to vote. 
 
CIS MISSION COMPARES CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS WITH LEGAL FRAMEWORK 
 
¶7. (SBU) According to Sloboda, the CIS mission's goal is to 
determine the extent to which the conduct of the elections is 
consistent with Turkmenistan's Election Law.  The CIS mission 
does not play the role of comptroller, but rather serves as a 
group of experts available to give advice on election issues. 
 They are "non-political" and adhere to the principle of 
non-interference in internal affairs. 
 
¶8. (SBU) By way of general observations, Sloboda said he had 
seen a strong desire on the part of the Turkmenistan CEC to 
conduct "good" elections.  At this point, he had a positive 
overall perspective about preparations for the election, 
saying the technical basis for the elections is already in 
place.  Since it is the first time that the Turkmen have 
invited foreign observers, they want to make a positive 
impression, which Sloboda also considered to be a good sign 
that elections would be well-run.  He expected the observer 
mission would make a recommendation to the GOTX to regularize 
Turkmenistan's election laws, which he said sometimes have 
contradictory provisions.  Generally, he thought Turkmen 
election laws were comparable with election laws of CIS 
countries. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The Turkmen Foreign Ministry provided the CIS 
mission with candidate information, according to which 56 of 
the candidates are women and ninety percent of candidates 
have higher education.  Sloboda said candidates represent all 
sectors of "civil society" and there are either two or three 
candidates for each seat.  He also mentioned that the CIS 
observers had encountered independent candidates, nominated 
at the initiative of a group of citizens versus by a mass 
organization, in two districts in Ashgabat, noting that while 
the practice of independent candidacies was not widespread, 
it nonetheless existed. 
 
CIS APPLIES ITS OWN STANDARDS FOR DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS 
 
¶10. (SBU) He mentioned that the CIS election missions 
generally have good contacts with OSCE observers and that 
they have a "gentleman's agreement" not to comment on each 
other's findings.  He stated the methodology used by CIS 
election missions is "practically the same" as that used by 
the OSCE.  The standards applied by CIS missions are based on 
the 2002 CIS Convention on Standards of Democratic Elections, 
which is mandatory for all member states who have adopted it. 
 The key elements are secret ballot, non-discrimination and 
free voting.  Sloboda stressed the appropriateness of 
conducting an election observation mission in Turkmenistan, 
saying that the outcome of the elections could not be known 
in advance.  An on-the-ground presence is needed to see the 
mentality, desire and responsibility of all the participants 
in the electoral process. 
 
¶11. (SBU) COMMENT:  The deputy chief's comments about Turkmen 
preparedness for the elections and the openness of Turkmen 
election officials were consistent with observations by 
Embassy reporting officers during provincial trips to observe 
election preparations.  It is likely that the post-election 
CIS statement will be positive, given the CIS mission's focus 
on the technical aspects of the elections.  Sloboda 
characterized the mission's role as to advise, not to judge. 
As such, it will not challenge the Turkmen to improve their 
elections' infrastructure in ways that would increase citizen 
involvement and produce a more dynamic public policy debate. 
END COMMENT. 
MILES