VZCZCXRO0705
PP RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #1679/01 1790227
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 280227Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9736
INFO RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE PRIORITY 0017
RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001679 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/A, EUR/RPM 
STATE PASS TO AID FOR ASIA/SCAA 
PLEASE PASS USAID FOR JBROWNING 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM PGOV PREL AF
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS: STATE OF PLAY 
 
REF:  A. SECSTATE 62522 
      ¶B. Kabul 1596 
      ¶C. Kabul 1557 
      ¶D. Kabul 1506 
 
¶1.  (SBU) This, fourth in a series, updates and provides additional 
details on Embassy plans and efforts for the Afghan presidential and 
provincial council elections, per the request in ref A.  This cable 
updates post's efforts to achieve a sizeable contingent of 
international observers to help ensure credible elections in 
Afghanistan, and on the state of coordination among donors who are 
sponsoring observer missions. 
 
------------------------------- 
International Observer Missions 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Currently 200 international observers are planned for the 
first round of elections.  We are reviewing proposals that could add 
another 145 observers, a combination of internationals and 
associated Afghans.  This will augment the 7,000 domestic observers 
that the Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) 
plans to field. It does not include additional observers Embassies 
in Kabul may field.  Currently, the EU observation mission will be 
the largest planned international mission with around 60 long-term 
observers to begin arriving July 12, and 40-50 short-term observers 
(ref B). EU observers will deploy to seven provincial hubs:  Bamyan, 
Balkh, Kunduz, Herat, Kandahar, Paktia, and Nangarhar.  Canada plans 
to second observers to the EU mission. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) USAID has received four proposals, submitted by the Asia 
Foundation/ANFREL; Democracy International; the National Democratic 
Institute (NDI); and the International Republican Institute (IRI). 
The Asia Foundation/ANFREL and Democracy International proposals 
have been approved.  Their core teams will begin arriving next week. 
 The long-term observers for both of these organizations will arrive 
the third week of July, with short-term observers arriving closer to 
the election.  USAID is negotiating with IRI and NDI on where their 
observers will be deployed and on the composition of their 
delegations.  One of USAID's primary goals is to ensure that all 
regional commands - and their associated provinces - have an 
international observer presence.  With this in mind, USAID has asked 
IRI and NDI, which proposed a large security component, to deploy to 
the South and East, respectively.  These organizations are 
discussing this notion internally and will have a decision from 
their boards to convey to USAID on June 29.  We will report SEPTEL 
on the finalization of these plans and the exact number, 
composition, and deployment plan of each of these observer missions. 
 
 
---------------------------- 
Observers' Issues of Concern 
---------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Per ref C, Post, with UNDP-ELECT, led in creating an 
Observer Secretariat to share information among missions and 
de-conflict polling day travels.  At a June 24 meeting, members 
agreed on terms of reference.  While members are properly averse to 
consultation on messages or public statements, they agree that 
sharing preliminary observer statements on a voluntary basis would 
be useful.  The EC representative briefed that Minister of Interior 
Atmar had asked the EU mission to make observation of police 
behavior a priority and to employ an expert on police conduct. 
(Note:  Per ref D, Atmar has made a similar suggestion to Ambassador 
Carney.  End Note.)  He also noted concern that the IEC's observer 
code of conduct threatens serious discipline from the IEC or ECC for 
violations, without detailing what that may entail, and gives the 
IEC the authority to restrict access to polling centers to prevent 
over-crowding.  The EU is working through these issues with the IEC 
and will update the Secretariat at future meetings.  USAID briefed 
other members on the geographic coverage goals it plans to achieve. 
The plan may require the Embassy to ask some PRTs in RC-South and 
RC-East to provide support for U.S.-funded observers.  Donors are 
still far from agreeing on whether to coordinate on training, 
credentialing, and deployment, so we will raise these topics in 
future meetings. 
 
----------------------------- 
U.S. Embassy Observer Mission 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Kabul-based diplomatic missions will also offer election 
observers.  EU member states will integrate their diplomats into the 
EU mission.  The U.S. Embassy is planning for election day 
observation, with a plan modeled on the 2004 operation.  For the 
2004 presidential elections, the Embassy deployed 23 Americans and 
22 local staff as observers, with four-person teams visited polling 
 
KABUL 00001679  002 OF 002 
 
 
sites in a dozen districts around greater Kabul operating between 
6:15AM to 6:00PM. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) An observer delegation from the Embassy would augment the 
international presence, demonstrate U.S. support for the process, 
and provide valuable ground-level reporting.  It will also require 
high-levels of diplomatic security support and general services 
support to succeed.  Post is coordinating internally to determine 
requirements.  As we can expect VIP, CODEL, and congressional staff 
interest in observation, we will design a system that allows - on a 
limited basis and subject to chief of mission approval - legislative 
branch members and staff, and even some other Embassies' staff 
(Australians, for example) to participate in observation.  All 
observers fielded as part of the U.S. Embassy mission would be 
required to take a training course (which will be offered in Kabul), 
be credentialed, and consent to the parameters and rigors of 
performing a challenging task with utmost cultural sensitivity in a 
high-threat environment. The Embassy observer delegation will make 
every effort to coordinate the polling stations it will visit with 
other international and diplomatic observation missions to ensure 
maximum geographic coverage. 
 
------------------------------ 
THE OSCE ELECTION SUPPORT TEAM 
------------------------------ 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The OSCE is currently recruiting elections experts to 
serve on its election support team.  The team will not be called an 
election observation mission and the mission will not issue a 
statement the day after the election.  These were Russia's red 
lines.  However, in all other ways, the OSCE election support team 
will act like a long long-term observation mission, including 
preparing a report on the electoral process.  The report would 
include recommendations to the Afghan government on how the 
country's future elections, legal framework, and procedures, notably 
including voter registration, could be improved. The OSCE mission 
will be co-located with the EU election observation team, and 
therefore will have full access to the EU observer reports.  The 
OSCE team expects to be in Afghanistan until mid-September (when the 
final election results are announced by the IEC) and will issue its 
report shortly after that. The OSCE is then willing to continue to 
work with the Afghan government to initiate improvements in time for 
the expected summer 2010 parliamentary elections. 
 
EIKENBERRY