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O 131634Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9567
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE 0273
RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS IMMEDIATE 0001
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN IMMEDIATE 0063
RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA IMMEDIATE 0063
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RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME IMMEDIATE 0251
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO IMMEDIATE 0035
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0428
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 YAOUNDE 000028 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS AF/C 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CM PGOV PHUM PREL
SUBJECT: CAMEROON'S ELECAM: VIEWS FROM THE EU, 
COMMONWEALTH, OTHER CHIEFS OF MISSION 
 
REF: 08 YAOUNDE 1257 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary: On January 8, Ambassador hosted a meeting 
of the "8 6", an informal group of resident Chiefs of Mission 
which meets periodically.  The group discussed the 
implications and possible responses to President Biya's 
recent creation of a new Electoral Commission (ELECAM) packed 
with ruling party stalwarts.  They agreed that ELECAM lacks 
credibility but there were different views on whether to 
engage with it (despite its flaws) or take a strong stance. 
The Canadian High Commissioner thought the Commonwealth would 
take a strong stance against ELECAM.  The EU faces a decision 
in the next month of whether to fund ELECAM in 2010.  As an 
agreed next step, on January 15 the Ambassador and British 
High Commissioner will demarche the Prime Minister on ELECAM, 
on behalf of the 8 6, the Commonwealth and the European 
Union.  On January 13, local media was abuzz with what turned 
out to be inaccurate reports of a Commonwealth statement 
critical of ELECAM - indicative of the public desire for some 
kind of international response.  End summary. 
 
The 8 6 and ELECAM 
------------------ 
 
¶2.  (U)  The U.S. has the rotating chairmanship of the "8 6" 
from January-June, 2009.  Members of the "8 6" include the 
Chiefs of Mission from the European Commission, Germany, 
France, Greece, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, the United 
Kingdom, Japan, United States, Canada the UN, World Bank and 
IMF.  The January 8 meeting was attended by the Chiefs of 
Mission (or Charges) from the EU, France, Germany, UK, 
Greece, Italy, UN and World Bank. 
 
¶3.  (U)  The only agenda item was Cameroon's recently named 
Electoral Commission, Elections Cameroon (ELECAM).  As 
reported reftel, President Paul Biya created ELECAM on 
December 30, two years after it was required under a 2006 
law.  The membership of this new organization, most of whose 
12 members have strong ties to the ruling Cameroon People's 
Democratic Movement (CPDM) party, has been highly 
controversial.  Critics in the media and civil society have 
pointed to the lack of diversity or independence in the 
membership of ELECAM, questioning its legality and its 
ability to run credible elections in 2011 (presidential) and 
2012 (parliamentary and municipal). 
 
Views from the Missions 
----------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU)  The participating Heads of Mission had the 
following thoughts: 
 
Canada:  The Canadian High Commissioner said there was not 
yet an official Commonwealth reaction to ELECAM but he saw 
the new Commonwealth Secretary General as more assertive than 
his predecessor, frustrated with Cameroon, and likely to have 
a strong negative reaction to the ELECAM announcement.  The 
High Commissioner had contacted a representative of the 
Francophonie, who was not aware of ELECAM and, when informed 
about it, did not seem inclined to respond to the issue. 
 
The ELECAM decision put the international community in a 
"Catch-22 situation," in that they either support ELECAM 
(which would be interpreted as acceptance) or they don't 
(which would doom it to failure), the High Commissioner said. 
 He explained that Canada had sponsored Cameroon's membership 
in the Commonwealth in 1994 on the condition that it ascribe 
to the Harare Declaration which commits members to free and 
democratic political processes, including in Cameroon's case 
the creation of an independent electoral body.  ELECAM does 
not separate the functions of an election supervisor and 
implementer (as is done in Canada and the UK), raising 
serious doubts about its credibility, he said, concluding 
that the EU and Commonwealth should be the first to respond 
on ELECAM, preferably jointly and quickly. 
 
UN:  ELECAM "affects everything we do here," according to the 
Acting UN Resident Coordinator.  The UN has committed to 
supporting ELECAM and electoral processes through its 
2008-2012 partnership agreement with the Government of 
 
YAOUNDE 00000028  002 OF 003 
 
 
Cameroon (GRC).  The support is in the preparatory stage of 
identifying the needs of ELECAM.  The Acting Res Rep 
concurred that the membership of ELECAM was not balanced or 
independent and noted that the UN was reviewing what to do 
with its agreement.  She saw reformist "pockets of influence" 
within the GRC and argued that it was important to stay 
engaged with ELECAM, especially through technical support, in 
order to help shape it into something credible.  Keeping 
ELECAM credible was key to long term stability during and 
after an election, she stated. 
 
France:  The French Ambassador had spoken to ELECAM Vice 
President Justin Ewodo Ebanga, who argued the need to look at 
the quality of the nominees to ELECAM, not just their party 
affiliation, and to evaluate ELECAM's organizational ability 
as it gets of the ground.   The Francophonie seemed to be in 
a cautious wait-and-see mode, he said.  The Ambassador felt 
there had been too much focus on the individuals in ELECAM 
and not enough on the institution, but conceded that "if the 
people aren't serious, it won't work."  He argued for a 
two-track approach with the GRC: discussion through the 
regular EU-GRC dialogue, and a letter from the 8 6 "to go on 
record," or a meeting with the Prime Minister.  (He added 
that the Organization National des Elections (ONEL), ELECAM's 
predecessor, was created in 2001 under pressure from the 
Francophonie.) 
 
Germany:  The German Ambassador argued for a measured 
approach to ELECAM, judging it on what it does and 
calibrating donor funding accordingly.  Germany has "very 
difficult" relations with the GRC, which can increasingly go 
it alone and appears to care less and less about foreign 
reactions. 
 
EU:  The EU rep described the ELECAM decision as in a "very 
flagrant situation" which was difficult to justify.  He noted 
that the EU had to decide by February 2009 whether to go 
ahead with a planned 2-3 million Euro program of support for 
ELECAM in 2010. 
 
World Bank:  The World Bank Res Rep affirmed that the GRC has 
the funds and could fund ELECAM adequately but appears not to 
be making it a priority.  While ELECAM is outside the mandate 
of the Bank, the ELECAM decision "speaks volumes about the 
government's commitment to reform" in all realms, including 
economic reform.  The GRC listens to the international 
community much less than it did even a year ago, she said, 
although the government wants foreign recognition of ELECAM 
for domestic purposes.  If the 8 6 criticizes ELECAM, it 
would be domestically difficult for the GRC, she said. 
 
Italy:  The Italian Ambassador thought the 8 6 should let the 
Commonwealth and EU take the lead in responding.  He lamented 
that the GRC doesn't care as much as it used to about foreign 
pressure and argued that, while disappointed, the 
international community now needed to focus on making ELECAM 
work, even with its flaws. 
 
UK:  UK Charge agreed with the need to express disappointment 
with the ELECAM decision but was concerned that any pressure 
to change the composition of ELECAM at this point could give 
the GRC an excuse for delaying the establishment of a 
functioning electoral body. 
 
Greece:  The Greek Ambassador questioned whether the 
international community should continue to trust the 
government following the ELECAM decision. 
 
Next Steps 
---------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU)  Ambassador Garvey argued that the longer we wait 
to react to ELECAM the more the GRC will interpret it as our 
acceptance.  The GRC wants the legitimacy of an electoral 
process the international community recognizes, she argued, 
suggesting the group at least press for benchmarks to monitor 
the progress of ELECAM.  We want to make sure the 
international response to ELECAM is used to leverage better 
elections in 2011, she said. 
 
 
YAOUNDE 00000028  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  The Ambassador proposed, and the 8 6 group 
endorsed, that she meet soon with Prime Minister Ephriam 
Inoni as the rep for the 8 6, accompanied by the Charge of 
the British High Commission (representing the Commonwealth 
and the EU), to express disappointment with ELECAM and to 
point to the need for ELECAM to demonstrate it can function 
with independence.  (Note:  The PM is the designated 
interlocutor for the 8 6.  End note).  This meeting is 
scheduled for January 15. 
 
The Statement That Wasn,t 
------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U)  The private Cameroonian press buzzed on January 13 
with news of a statement from the Commonwealth condemning the 
composition of ELECAM and promising to withhold assistance on 
elections and decentralization programs until new ELECAM 
leadership is named.  Our contacts at the British High 
Commission have confirmed these reports to be inaccurate.  It 
appears the Cameroonian press seized on remarks critical of 
ELECAM made on January 12 by a member of the British 
Parliament and conflated his remarks into EU and Commonwealth 
policy.  The EU Ambassadors are meeting in Yaounde on January 
13 to discuss a common position, and the Commonwealth is not 
expected to make a comment until after a technical visit to 
Cameroon scheduled for the end of January. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU)  The ELECAM issue has dominated the local press for 
the past week, with media and civil society opinions heavily 
critical.  Many of our contacts hope the USG and other 
foreign partners will openly discredit ELECAM.  The headline 
attention given to the Commonwealth statement-that-wasn't 
reflects the keen public interest in the reaction of the 
donor community.  The President's decision on ELECAM is a 
serious step backward for democracy in Cameroon, raising 
questions about future elections and Biya's longer term plans 
that we will analyze in greater depth septel.  Our reaction 
to ELECAM will shape our relationship with the GRC as well as 
our reputation with the Cameroonian public.  We will weigh 
the Commonwealth and EU positions on ELECAM and the outcome 
of our upcoming meeting with the PM in coordinating with the 
Department on a USG approach at this critical juncture in 
Cameroon's political history. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
GARVEY