VZCZCXYZ0009
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLB #0349/01 0841532
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY ADX 00470030 MSI7945)
R 251532Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BEIRUT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4523
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 3810
RHMFISS/USCENTCOM SPECIAL HANDLING MACDILL AFB FL
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3607
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS BEIRUT 000349 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y (ADDED CAPTION) 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
DEPT FOR NEA/FO AND NEA/ELA 
ALSO FOR IO ACTING A/S WARLICK 
P FOR DRUSSELL, RRANGASWAMY 
USUN FOR WOLFF/SCHEDLBAUER/GERMAIN 
NSC FOR MCDERMOTT, SHAPIRO 
DOD FOR FLOURNOY/KAHL/DALTON 
DRL/NESA FOR WHITMAN, BARGHOUT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINR PHUM KDEM KPAL LE
SUBJECT: LEBANON:  UN CONCERNED THAT LACK OF CONSTITUTIONAL 
COUNCIL COULD LEAD TO VIOLENCE 
 
REF: A. BEIRUT 263 
     ¶B. BEIRUT 247 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) In a March 23 meeting with foreign Ambassadors, UN 
Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams stressed the 
need for a working Constitutional Council, the body that is 
to adjudicate election disputes.  Williams said he feared 
that the lack of a functioning Council could lead to serious 
conflicts following the June 7 vote.  Williams urged the 
Ambassadors to stress to GOL officials the need for a 
resolution to the Constitutional Council impasse.  GOL 
officials and other donors also provided updates on the work 
of the Supervisory Commission for the Election Campaign 
(SCEC) and elections observation missions' plans for 
monitoring the 2009 elections.  End Summary. 
 
UNSCOL CONCERNED ABOUT 
THE DAY AFTER 
---------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In a March 23 conference attended by the Ambassador 
and other foreign Chiefs of Mission, the United Nations 
Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL), Michael Williams, 
said he was troubled by the lack of a functioning 
Constitutional Council in the lead up to the June 7 
parliamentary elections.  The Council will play a critical 
role in the elections, as it provides the only legal recourse 
for adjudicating challenges to the electoral results -- Refs 
A, B.  (Note:  Parliament underwent a contentious, 
politicized process to name its five members, and the cabinet 
has not yet nominated, or even discussed, the five remaining 
appointments.  End note.)  Williams stressed to the group 
that they should urge GOL officials to solve this matter 
before the June 7 elections.  Williams said violence could 
erupt if stakeholders do not have a legal way to challenge 
election results.  (Note:  Christian opposition leader Michel 
Aoun still complains that his challenge to the results of 11 
seats in the 2005 elections remain unanswered due to the lack 
of a functioning council.  End Note.) 
MEDIA MONITORING LEADING 
UP TO THE ELECTIONS 
------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) A representative from the Ministry of Interior's 
Supervisory Commission for the Election Campaign (SCEC), Dr. 
Khalil Gebara, briefed electoral donors on the SCEC's work to 
date preparing for the June 7 parliamentary elections. 
Gebara said the SCEC has a media monitoring team that is 
monitoring television, radio, websites, news, and magazine 
advertisements related to the elections. In addition, Gebara 
noted that the electoral law stipulates that all media 
outlets are forbidden from running any campaign related 
advertisements on election day. 
 
CAMPAIGN FINANCE 
MONITORING 
---------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The SCEC will also begin monitoring campaign 
spending in the coming months, Gebara said.  The SCEC will 
monitor both direct spending by candidates and spending done 
on behalf of candidates.  Campaign spending limits, which 
will be based on the number of registered voters, will be set 
soon after the March 30 deadline for the registered voters' 
list to be updated, according to Gebara.  The new electoral 
law stipulates that candidates will only be allowed to spend 
$2.66 per constituent in their district, in addition to a 
fixed amount of $100,000.  (Note:  This can be a large 
amount, for example in Baalbeck-Hermal, a district where each 
list could include 10 candidates, the total will be $765,000 
per candidate, according to International Foundations for 
Electoral Systems head Richard Chambers.  End Note.)  Gebara 
said candidates will have to submit their campaign spending 
 
paperwork in order to run in the elections by April 6.  After 
the April 6 date, candidates will have 45 days to withdraw 
their candidacy. 
 
SCEC, NOT AN 
ENFORCEMENT BODY 
---------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Gebara noted that the SCEC is not an enforcement 
body.  He said the SCEC will monitor election-related 
activities and develop a report of violations after the 
elections, but will have no legal authority to enforce rules 
and regulations.  If the Constitutional Council were 
functioning, the SCEC would prove useful as its report could 
be used during dispute resolution as evidence of electoral 
violations, according to Gebara.  However, he noted that if a 
candidate wins a seat in parliament, even if he were found 
guilty of committing a violation, he would be immune from 
prosecutions given the status as an MP. 
 
RESULTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED 
SOON AFTER THE ELECTIONS 
------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Gebara added that the MOI will announce the results 
of the election, district by district.  He added that the 
Ministry of Interior will not wait for all the results to 
come in to report, but would wait for each "muhafaza" (larger 
districts) to announce the results of each of their "cazas" 
(smaller districts), and then report the results "muhafaza" 
by "muhafaza" (there are six "muhafazas.")  The Ministry of 
Interior expects to report all results within two days of the 
election, Gebara said. 
 
UPDATE ON 
OBSERVATION MISSIONS 
-------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The Carter Center's Field Office Director, Delphine 
Blanchet, said the Carter Center was the first group to 
submit an application to the Ministry of Interior to receive 
official accreditation as election observers and is awaiting 
a response.  Six of the Carter Center's Long Term Observers 
(LTO) landed in Beirut on March 11 and have divided into 
three teams of two and deployed to Tripoli, Sidon, and 
Beirut.  Blanchet added that an official delegation of 20 
individuals from the U.S. would arrive to Beirut around June 
1, and stay until June 10. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The EU's Deputy Head of Mission, Michael Miller, 
said the EU will also send a mission to monitor the 
elections.  A team of 30 LTOs will arrive to Beirut on April 
¶24.  The members will be deployed to Beirut, Tripoli, Tyre, 
Sidon, and Zahle.  An official EU delegation, composed of EU 
parliamentarians, will arrive May 28, and a total of 100 EU 
observers will be deployed throughout Lebanon on June 7. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) In addition, the National Democratic Institute's 
(NDI) Country Representative, Joe Hall, said NDI's LTOs would 
be on the ground soon, and would be deployed in two person 
teams to Jezzine, Zahle, Bekaa, and Beirut.  Hall added that 
an official delegation of NDI observers would arrive on June 
1 and depart on June 10.  Williams added that the Arab League 
plans on sending a observation mission as well, but noted 
that a formal decision is unlikely to be announced before the 
March 30 Arab League Summit in Doha. 
SISON