VZCZCXRO5967
OO RUEHGI RUEHMA RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #0739/01 1620504
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 110504Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3929
INFO RUCNFUR/DARFUR COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000739 
 
DEPT FOR SE GRATION, S/USSES, AF A/S CARSON, AF/C, AF/E 
NSC FOR MGAVIN 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM EAID SOCI ASEC KDEM AU UNSC SU
SUBJECT:  NEC BRIEFS AMBASSADORS ON STATUS OF ELECTORAL PROCESS AND 
ASKS FOR MONEY 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  National Elections Commission (NEC) Chair Dr. 
Abel Alier Alier briefed the diplomatic corps on the status of the 
electoral process, elaborated on the complexity of this historic 
election, explained delays in the demarcation of geographic 
constituencies and voter registration, and told the audience that 
the budget for the election is estimated by NEC to be $1.1 billion. 
MFA Undersecretary Mutriff ali-Siddiq ended the meeting by appealing 
to all countries and donors for assistance to the NEC to carry out 
the planned election.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) called in 
Ambassadors, heads of diplomatic missions, senior UN officials and 
donors on June 9, for a detailed briefing on the current status of 
the electoral process.  CDA Whitehead and the USAID Mission Director 
attended.  MFA Undersecretary Mutriff ali-Siddiq opened the meeting, 
stating that the upcoming elections are a landmark event for Sudan 
and under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).  He stated that 
the elections will "broaden the base of the CPA by transparent 
ownership of programs by the north and the south in front of all 
citizens." 
 
¶3.  NEC Chairman Dr. Abel Alier briefed, and then answered 
questions.  He explained that the NEC is guided by three documents: 
the 2005 CPA, the 2005 Interim National Constitution and the 2008 
National Elections Act.  He launched into a history lesson of 
Sudanese elections since 1953, and made it clear that he sees this 
election as unique, since it is now multiparty, pluralistic, and 
open to political dialogue with an open field of democratic contest. 
 He emphasized the planned elections' complexity; with elections 
taking place on six levels on the same day, and both proportional 
and direct voting.  The NEC is currently in the process of 
demarcating geographic constituencies, work that is linked to the 
census results.  Dr. Alier admitted that the demarcation started 
late, and is behind schedule, mainly because of the late release of 
census results. 
 
¶4. (SBU) To manage the electoral process, the NEC has established 
four standing committees and a secretariat.  Dr. Alier announced 
that the NEC estimates the total budget needed for the elections is 
$1.1 billion.  When asked whether the NEC has the capacity and 
funding to carry out such an ambitious and costly project, the 
Chairman noted that they are building capacity with help from 
international experts, and that although the NEC has received 
assistance from the U.S., UN and other donors, it still does not 
have the funding needed for the elections. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Dr. Alier stated there is now an electoral high committee 
established in each of the 25 states, plus one for southern Sudan. 
Each high committee has one chair and four other members.  He 
announced a major training workshop on June 16 to brief all high 
committee members in Sudan on election roles, rules and process.  He 
acknowledged that media will play a major role in the elections.  To 
coordinate work with the media, the NEC has established a new media 
center.  The Chairman stated that the NEC is bound by the election 
law and the ethics of its work to invite and welcome local, regional 
and international election observers.  So far, a number of observer 
organizations have responded, with Dr. Alier citing the Carter 
Center, funded by USAID, as the major international observer.  He 
stated that the NEC recognizes the observers' rights and 
obligations, including ensuring their right to travel anywhere in 
the country and their right to security. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Dr. Alier made it clear that the NEC has the authority and 
mandate to work with political parties, and that it has had several 
useful meetings with many of Sudan's current 61 registered political 
parties.  The parties have voiced concerns to the NEC regarding, for 
example, the openness of the process of demarcating geographic 
constituencies and the planned registration of voters.  He mentioned 
that some political parties have requested NEC funding, with the 
response that funding is outside of the NEC mandate and that the 
parties should speak to the government. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Chairman admitted there have been delays, and this may 
affect the election's timing.  The timeframe set by the NEC two 
months ago indicated final results in February 2010.  Alier did not 
mention any new dates, but did say that if the timing for the final 
results does change, they would let us know. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Responding to a question following the briefing on the 
concern of one party to the CPA (i.e. the SPLM) on the census 
results, the Chairman stated that three weeks ago the NEC had been 
called to the Presidency to receive the final census findings and 
results, and that the entire Presidency attended, including the 
President, first Vice President and Vice President.  It is those 
 
KHARTOUM 00000739  002 OF 002 
 
 
census results that the NEC is using for to demarcate 
constituencies.  Further, the Chairman stated that there is talk of 
the findings and power sharing, and he thinks that this should be 
discussed between the parties at the CPA political committee level. 
Asked whether the NEC feels that free and fair elections can take 
place in Darfur given security concerns, the Chairman stated that if 
there are cases where elections cannot be conducted because of 
security concerns, they can be postponed, as has been done in 
previous Sudanese elections.  In response to a question of female 
representation, Dr. Alier said that women can compete in the 
geographical constituencies as well as on political party lists for 
the 15 percent proportional seats for political parties, as well of 
course as the 25 percent proportional seats in the national assembly 
for women. 
 
¶9. (SBU) MFA Undersecretary Mutriff Ali-Siddiq concluded the meeting 
by requesting assistance and contributions from the participants for 
the elections.  The NEC had hoped to have contributions of 30 
percent of its needs by now, and they are well short of that.  It is 
unclear how much of the $1.1 billion budget will be contributed by 
the Government, although Dr. Ali Siddiq did say that the government 
has contributed in 2009. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Comment:  The Government and the NEC clearly used this 
broad diplomatic community elections briefing both to raise 
awareness that there have been delays in the electoral process and 
to probably expect delays in the elections results, and to make a 
plea for funding from the broad diplomatic community.  Dr. Alier's 
briefing was thorough and useful, with even MFA's Ali Siddiq saying 
they learned a lot during the briefing.  At the NEC Policy Committee 
meeting with major donors and the UN last week, the NEC used the 
same language as the Chairman used today in describing the delays, 
saying that they are still moving the process forward, but warning 
that the NEC is seriously considering delaying the election itself 
without giving a firm date.  Further, given the significant size of 
the proposed $1.1 billion election budget, the Government and NEC 
are obviously concerned about obtaining outside funding.  Mission 
will continue to monitor closely the complex elections timetable and 
process and the work of the NEC to maintain needed momentum. 
 
WHITEHEAD