VZCZCXRO1915
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHBP #0070 0341530
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031530Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9978
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BAMAKO 000070 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM ML
SUBJECT: DISORGANIZATION AND LACK OF FUNDS MAY DELAY LOCAL 
ELECTIONS 
 
REF: A. BAMAKO 00027 
     ¶B. BAMAKO 00053 
 
1.(SBU) Summary: One month after Mali's Ministry of 
Territorial Administration named April 26 as the date for 
local elections, it is not clear that the approximately USD 
16 million required for the elections are available. 
Certainly, they have yet to be disbursed to the institutions 
responsible for organizing and overseeing the elections.  In 
addition, reports in recent days point to a general 
disorganization, prompting at least one opposition leader to 
advocate postponement and an investigation into problems with 
voter registration lists.  Since local officials' five year 
terms expire on May 31, a delay could cause some 
constitutional confusion and Malian officials may be forced 
to scramble to find a way to extend these expired mandates. 
End Summary. 
 
2.(SBU)  In late December 2008 Mali's Minister of Territorial 
Administration, General Kafougouna Kone, set April 26 as the 
date for local elections throughout Mali (Ref. A).  The 
General Election Delegation (DGE), which falls within the 
Ministry of Territorial Administration, and the Independent 
National Election Committee (CENI) share responsibility for 
organizing and overseeing elections in Mali.  To date, 
neither the DGE nor the CENI has received its share of the 
$16 million reputedly budgeted for the administration of the 
2009 local elections.  Lack of funding, coupled with 
confusion over the status of Mali's nation-wide campaign to 
update voter rolls, have already led some in Mali to wonder 
if the April 26 date is truly feasible (Ref. B). 
 
3.(U) On January 28, Tiebile Drame, the president of the 
opposition Party for National Renaissance (PARENA), added his 
voice to this skepticism and called for a six-month delay. 
Drame cited problems with the electoral list as his primary 
concern, calling for an investigation into purported 
irregularities.  Drame pointed out that many local voter 
lists were in the process of being revised prior to the 
naming of local electoral commissions, the bodies supposedly 
in charge revising the lists.  In supporting a election 
postponement and an investigation, he also cited the use of 
obsolete lists and general doubt about their reliability. 
 
4.(SBU)  Malian law allows elections to be postponed for up 
to six months.  The April 26 date, however, is largely a 
function of the end date of current local officials' term in 
office.  Elected in May 2004, these officials five-year terms 
will officially end on May 31.  If local elections are not 
held by the end of April or early May at the earliest, Mali 
may find itself in the unusual position of having to extend 
these term limits to cover the gap.  To complicate matters 
further, these same local officials are responsible for 
electing local mayors, whose five-year terms are also set to 
expire.  As a result, postponing the local elections will 
raise legal questions not only for the local councils, but 
also local mayors. 
 
5.(U)  Meanwhile, Mountaga Tall, the president of the 
National Congress for Democratic Initiatives Party (CNID), 
which is generally supportive of President Amadou Toumani 
Toure, lashed out at Mali's state-owned television station 
(ORTM) on January 27 for what Tall described as lopsided 
coverage of political parties.  Citing biased media coverage, 
Tall gave several examples of how the ORTM has ignored or 
marginalized the CNID.  Tall nevertheless vowed that the CNID 
was ready for the local elections and would enter the 
campaign season "with complete confidence." 
 
6.(SBU)  Comment:  Mali was clearly hoping that international 
donors would provide financial support for the local 
elections.  To our knowledge, only Germany - which provided 
financial and logistical support for Mali's presidential and 
legislative elections in 2007 - has responded to this 
request.  The voter registration problems will likely not be 
fixed until Mali's voter registration program, known as 
RAVEC, is complete and the time line for completion of this 
project is rapidly heading toward late 2009 or beyond. 
Wobbly electoral lists, together with a financial deficit and 
the expiration of Mali's local government officials' terms in 
office, present election officials in Bamako with a rather 
unappealing electoral dilemma. 
MILOVANOVIC