VZCZCXRO5677
PP RUEHQU
DE RUEHPU #0312/01 0791550
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201550Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9761
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 000312 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/EX, WHA/CAR, INR/IAA 
STATE PASS AID FOR WHA/CAR 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM ASEC HA
SUBJECT: AND THEY'RE OFF!  HAITI OPENS SENATE CAMPAIGN 
 
REF: PORT-AU-PRINCE 0122 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Haiti's electoral authority on March 16 
declared the campaign for partial Senate elections officially 
open.  The authority also installed on March 13 communal 
electoral bureau personnel, who will oversee the elections 
process in Haiti's 140 communes.  Public response to the 
campaign opening has been lukewarm.  The CEP continues to 
muddle through management of the elections process, but 
continues to assure the public that the elections will take 
place on April 19 as scheduled.  Public apathy may well limit 
turnout.  End summary. 
 
Electoral Campaign Opens without Much Fanfare 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), Haiti's 
electoral authority, officially launched the electoral 
campaign for twelve Senate seats in a March 16 ceremony held 
in Port-au-Prince.  The campaign will close on April 17 at 
12:00 midnight, two days before Election Day.  There are 
seventy-eight registered candidates representing fifteen 
political parties.  CEP President Frantz Gerard Verret 
reaffirmed the election date of April 19 and admonished 
candidates (few of whom attended the ceremony) that they had 
the responsibility to respect the ''rules of democracy'' and 
adhere to the law, including prohibitions on posting campaign 
advertisements to exterior residential walls or fences which 
still carry tattered remnants from previous elections. 
 
Political Parties:  Show Us the Money 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Political parties decried the CEP's inattention to 
public financing of the campaign which the electoral law 
provides for.  (Note:  Article 125 of that law authorizes the 
Ministry of Finance to subsidize political parties to cover 
campaign costs.  A written request for a subsidy must be 
transmitted to the CEP for processing and approval.  The CEP 
then transmits the request to the Ministry of Finance. End 
note.)  Edgar Leblanc, leader of ''Struggling People's 
Organization'' (OPL), insisted in a March 16 radio interview 
that the CEP define criteria for political party financing 
and urged the government to provide campaign subsidies. 
Leblanc said he plans to submit his party's formal request 
for a subsidy to the CEP, saying candidates need this money 
to prepare and distribute campaign posters. 
 
¶4. (SBU) At the March 16 ceremony, CEP President Verret 
poured cold water on this idea, saying it was the 
government's responsibility, not the CEP's, to determine 
whether political parties would be financed, and if so, which 
ones.  In a meeting on March 18 with key donors, Verret said 
the CEP has made no provision to finance campaigns.  Verret 
said that none of the USD 5.5 million in GOH election funds 
will be allocated to political parties for campaign finance. 
He doubted the government has set aside any funds to provide 
candidates with subsidies. 
 
A Minor Campaign Clash in the Provinces 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) As Senate candidates hit the campaign trail, some 
worry that the CEP's exclusion of many candidates, including 
all from Fanmi Lavalas (reftel), might result in harassment 
of approved candidates, or even cause public disturbances. 
Jean Fritz Laplanche, an OPL candidate for the Grand'Anse 
Senate seat, was harassed in the town of Pestel on March 14 
by supporters of Guy Philippe, a suspected drug trafficker 
indicted in the U.S., whose candidacy the CEP rejected. 
Laplanche recounted to Poloff that on March 14, he was at 
home when he heard chants that no elections would occur in 
Pestel without Philippe's participation.  Laplanche reported 
that attackers then ransacked his vehicle and stole money 
intended for his campaign.  He later sought refuge in a 
church. 
 
Newly-Selected Communal Electoral Bureaus Face Criticism 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶6. (U) In Cornillon/Grand Bois (West Department), a crowd 
refused to allow the installation of the Communal Electoral 
Bureau (BEC) on March 14 and were dispersed by the police 
with teargas.  Press reports say that the persons installed 
were different from those who won the original competition 
for these positions, and that political favoritism may have 
been at work.  Deputy Gasner Douze (Fusion) called on the 
 
PORT AU PR 00000312  002 OF 002 
 
 
public to mobilize against the ''farce'' of these elections 
and warned they would bring trouble.  Deputy Esdras Fabien 
(Lespwa/Carrefour -- a suburb of Port-au-Prince) publicly 
questioned the credibility of the recruitment process for BEC 
members across the country and urged the CEP to address the 
situation. 
 
¶7. (SBU) CEP President Verret told donors March 18 that 
although there had been procedural problems in the 
recruitment and selection of the members of the 140 BECs, all 
were installed as of March 13 and began training on March 18. 
 (Note:  International Foundation for Electoral Systems 
(IFES) is training BEC members in the West Department that 
includes Port-au-Prince. End Note.)  A MINUSTAH elections 
advisor told PolOff March 18 that he expects CEP oversight of 
the BECs to be minimal and doubts BECs will receive much 
guidance and support from the CEP in the lead up to Election 
Day. 
 
Where from Here? 
--------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) The CEP's opening the campaign and installing the 
BECs are the first solid indications that the election 
operations calendar for the April 19 elections is more or 
less on schedule.  The CEP leadership appears firmly 
committed. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Nevertheless, there remains much to do if elections 
are to be held April 19.  The BECs and Department Electoral 
Bureau (BEDs) will need information and resources from the 
CEP to manage the technical and political issues that will 
inevitably arise between now and election day.  National 
identification cards required to vote have not been fully 
distributed.  The electoral list of eligible votes has not 
been finalized.  The promised voter education and ''get out 
the vote'' campaign has barely started.  Senate candidate for 
the West Department Evelyne Bernard Cheron told PolOff that 
there is little public enthusiasm for the upcoming elections. 
 She said, ''People are hungry and have had a hard year.'' 
More will need to be done, she thought, to inspire an 
increasingly impatient public that electing twelve new 
senators will make a difference in their lives.  Septel will 
give a more comprehensive view of the state of election 
preparations. 
SANDERSON