VZCZCXRO6289
PP RUEHDBU RUEHPW
DE RUEHBUL #1256/01 1371341
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171341Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8944
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES PRIORITY 0059

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001256 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM AF
SUBJECT: ENCOURAGING DISCOURSE ON ELECTIONS THROUGH PUBLIC 
OUTREACH 
 
REF: KABUL 998 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY: The public outreach division of the 
Independent Election Commission (IEC) has developed a 
multi-layered strategy to educate the Afghan people about the 
August 2009 elections.  IEC public outreach (PO) is striving 
to provide consistent and accurate messaging at appropriate 
times in the electoral calendar.  The IEC will target 
separately women, youths, Kuchis, religious leaders, 
community leaders, political and security actors to reach a 
wide-cross section of voters.  Training for PO staff will 
finish in the coming days and the PO campaign will begin on 
May 23 and run at full throttle through voting day.  The PO 
department successfully engaged the public during voter 
registration and in the lead-up to the candidate nomination 
period (reftel).  END SUMMARY 
 
STAFFING UP 
----------- 
 
¶2.  (U) The IEC is training provincial public outreach 
officers (PPOO) and provincial public outreach trainers 
(PPOT) in three rounds, ending May 16.  Once complete, the 
PPOOs and PPOTs will return to their home provinces and on 
May 21 and 22, will train their provinces' share of the 1536 
civic educators (CE) in each provincial capital.  From May 
23, the CEs will engage the electorate at the district level 
to promote understanding of elections participation.  The CEs 
will work in one man/one woman pairs to reach the largest 
audience.  When possible, the IEC will hire individuals from 
the province and district in which they will work.  Civic 
educators will utilize traditional methods of face-to-face 
outreach that are highly effective in Afghanistan. 
 
USING TRADITIONAL METHODS OF COMMUNICATION 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) The CEs' primary tool is a nine-page, pictorial 
flip-chart, accompanied by a manual for the educators.  The 
flip-chart enables the educators to tell the story of how 
Afghanistan's democracy began from the fall of the Taliban to 
the present.  It promotes discussion on what voters should 
consider when voting for candidates, the work of provincial 
councils, how elections operate - in general terms and August 
20 specifics - proper marking of ballots and the role of the 
Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC).  Although the ECC will 
produce a separate public outreach campaign, the IEC is 
including information about the ECC and electoral offenses to 
raise public awareness of the important safeguard.  Starting 
May 23, the educators will travel around their districts and 
host two gatherings each day.  As of mid-July, once final 
ballots are set, the educators will add a mock ballot to 
their tool kits. 
 
WHILE MAKING THE MOST OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Embracing modern outreach opportunities the IEC is 
using SMS messaging.  The first round of three mass SMS 
messages reached 6.3 million phones to promote candidate 
registration.  A second round of messaging will go out around 
voting day and the IEC will send a third set if the elections 
require a second round of polling.  The IEC is sponsoring 24 
radio public service announcements (PSA) - 12 Dari, 12 Pashto 
- that will air on 30 radio stations, six times per day for 
two months.  For the same period, 24 television PSAs - 12 
Dari, 12 Pashto - will air on 10 TV stations twice daily. 
The PSA messages range from encouraging voter participation, 
explaining that ballots are secret, and noting that only 
female IEC staff will work in female polling stations to 
explaining how the IEC will count ballots.  Targeting 
specific voting groups, the IEC will coordinate four TV and 
four radio roundtables featuring mullahs, intellectuals, 
women and IEC officials to discuss electoral procedures and 
encourage participation. All IEC PO materials list the number 
of the IEC's call center.  With a free phone call, interested 
parties can reach an IEC operator for live assistance from 
6AM to 12AM daily. 
 
QLLING THE STORY WITH DRAMA 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U) The IEC has ordered 15 episodes of a radio soap opera 
- in both Dari and Pashto - targeted at women.  The program 
will run from mid-July to mid-August, focusing on the 
importance of female participation in the electoral process. 
The IEC is sponsoring a 10-minute TV documentary - also in 
Dari and Pashto - that will air on five stations, twice daily 
August 1-15.  The program will provide a step-by-step 
explanation of the process for polling day. 
 
KABUL 00001256  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
AND PICTURES 
------------ 
 
¶6.  (U) IEC officials are deciding on locations for 684 
billboards around the country.  The IEC designed a poster 
series that explains voting day, promotes voter involvement 
and female participation, and links voting to the future of 
Afghanistan.  Thirteen fact sheets detail each aspect of the 
electoral process.  The IEC is sending "mullah books" 
promoting the value of democracy in an Islamic society to 
mosques throughout the country.  The PO department has 
contracted printing of 1.5 million posters, 2.2 million 
brochures and 1.5 million fact sheets with the goal of 
distribution to every village in Afghanistan. 
 
AND LOCAL CREATIVITY 
--------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) In a May 13 meeting, IEC public outreach director 
Dr. Jalali said that community support will allow the IEC's 
civic education efforts to reach districts where the Taliban 
dominate.  Jalali noted that during voter registration the 
IEC succeeded in sending teams into districts where community 
leaders had guaranteed the security of the teams. 
 
¶8.  (U) From May 23 to June 10, the IEC will accept small 
grant proposals for voter education.  With a USD 1,000 each 
limit, the approximately 400 projects will develop live 
dramas in each district to educate voters. The IEC's two 
small grant coordinators will manage the planned small 
grants.  The IEC hopes to fund one program per district.  In 
addition, in urban centers the IEC will use cars with 
loudspeakers to spread its message. 
 
COORDINATING WITH THE ELECTORAL MEDIA COMMISSION 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶9. (U) The electoral law calls for the IEC to establish an 
Electoral Media Commission (EMC) at least 60 days prior to 
the elections.  On May 10, well ahead of the June 20 
deadline, the EMC officially formed with five commissioners 
appointed by the IEC, including two women.  Still in the 
nascent stages of organization, the bulk of the EMC's 
activities will occur during the campaign period of June 
16-August 18.  The EMC will organize 16 media roundtables for 
presidential candidates using USD 2 million of funding from 
the IEC.  The EMC will solicit candidate input on the format 
of the roundtables - 8 TV, 8 radio - and make certain that 
each candidate receives equal airtime. 
EIKENBERRY