VZCZCXRO1617
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHAB #0411/01 1871448
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061448Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5235
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000411 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM IV
SUBJECT: IDENTIFICATION/VOTER REGISTRATION ENDS, BUT MUCH 
REMAINS TO BE DONE BEFORE ELECTION 
 
REF: A. ABIDJAN 406 
     ¶B. ABIDJAN 402 
     ¶C. ABIDJAN 315 AND PREVIOUS 
     ¶D. 08 ABIDJAN 616 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary. The identification/voter registration 
process, which began almost one year ago, ended formally on 
June 30.  The fact that it was carried out without violence 
is a major step forward in the peace process.  The accuracy 
of the results could, however, be questioned.  Accusations of 
fraud have re-surfaced in recent days and the President's 
camp has complained that large numbers of Ivoirians were not 
able to register before the deadline.  Much work remains to 
be done before a final voter list can be produced.  If the 
next stages of the electoral process are beset by the same 
logistical and organizational problems that plagued the 
identification process, it may become technically impossible 
to observe the November 29 date.  End Summary. 
 
 
Identification/Voter Registration Ends 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) The identification/voter registration process, which 
began on September 15, 2008 and was extended several times, 
ended on June 30.  As of June 21, over 6.2 million had been 
registered.  The CEI plans to announce the final enrollment 
figure in a week.  The process was carried out in 11,000 
centers nationwide as well as in 23 countries overseas: 
Belgium, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Gabon, 
Germany, Ghana, Great Britain, Guinea, India, Italy, Mali, 
Morocco, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, 
Switzerland, Tunisia, and the United States.  Despite 
logistical and organizational challenges and setbacks, the 
process was completed without violence. 
 
Multiple Steps Needed Before Election Day 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) While registration has ended, much work remains to 
be done in order for the first round of the presidential 
election to be held as scheduled on November 29,2009.  The 
data gathered for each applicant at the registration centers 
needs to be electronically processed and checked for 
duplication.  This process was supposed to be ongoing at 70 
regional centers concurrently with the registration process. 
However, 56 of these centers are not yet operational because 
a lack of electricity and air conditioning has prevented 
installation of the computer equipment needed to conduct this 
work.  The CEI told Embassy that the centers should become 
operational in late July. 
 
Electoral List Must Be Finalized 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The next step is publication of the draft electoral 
list. This must occur by August 29 for the election to be 
held as scheduled on November 29 since the electoral code 
provides that the draft list must be published no later than 
three months before the date of the election.  The 
citizenship of new voters (i.e. those whose names were not on 
the 2000 electoral list) is supposed to be verified by 
checking historical archives before the draft list is 
published, but it appears that the political parties have not 
yet agreed on which archives may be consulted.  Since the 
issues of who is a citizen of Cote d'Ivoire is at the core of 
the 2002 rebellion that brought about the country's political 
crisis, this will be a critical issue (See Reftel D).  This 
is an issue on which it will be difficult to achieve 
consensus and about which there is already confusion.  For 
example, on May 28 the Secretary General of the opposition 
PDCI, one of the country's three largest political parties, 
told Ambassador that everyone on the draft electoral list 
would be considered a citizen unless proof were presented to 
the contrary; it is not clear that the CEI shares this 
perspective. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Challenges to the draft electoral list will be the 
next major hurdle. Once the draft list is published, 
challenges regarding the inappropriate inclusion on or 
omission from the list of a person who went through the 
identification process will have to be made within 30 days. 
The CEI's decision about a challenge can be appealed to a 
judge free of charge by lodging a complaint with the clerk of 
the court. CEI President Mambe told Ambassador on June 30 
that the political parties will not be allowed to challenge 
the inclusion of a potential voter.  Only an individual 
claiming to have proof that someone on the list is not 
Ivoirian will be allowed to challenge the inclusion of that 
individual.  Individuals can lodge complaints against any 
number of persons as long as they present proof.  Persons who 
 
ABIDJAN 00000411  002 OF 002 
 
 
knowingly present false challenges will be liable to 
prosecution.  Complaints about mistakes in identity data 
(name, gender, profession, etc.) will be submitted directly 
to the judiciary rather than to the CEI.  Judges are required 
by law to resolve all electoral list disputes within 8 days 
and their decisions cannot be appealed.  The CEI President 
told Ambassador that the final list will not be published 
until all challenges to the draft list are resolved. 
According to the electoral code, the final voter list must be 
published 15 days before the election. 
 
Candidates Must Register and be Approved 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Candidates must register with the CEI 45 days before 
the election.  The CEI transmits candidates' names to the 
Constitutional Council within 72 hours of receiving them. 
The Electoral Code provides that the Constitutional Council 
publishes the final list of candidates no later than 20 days 
before election day.  While it is clear that the major 
presidential candidates have been in pre-election mode for 
months, the electoral code provides for a specific period of 
official campaigning, to be set by decree.  The CEI President 
told Ambassador on June 30 that a person must be on the 
electoral list in order to be a candidate.  This would seem 
to mean that candidates' formal registrations cannot begin 
until the final electoral list is published, leaving very 
little time for the official campaign period. 
 
Cards Must Be Printed and Distributed 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) Neither identity cards nor voter cards, which are the 
end products of the identification process, have yet been 
printed.  Printing will commence once the final electoral 
list is published.  The cards will be printed in Cote 
d'Ivoire, but the machinery to do so has been imported.  The 
CEI was unable to tell Embassy whether the machinery has in 
fact already arrived since Sagem, the French company hired by 
the government to print them, is in charge of this. 
 
Numerous Decrees Must Be Signed 
------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) The Prime Minister's Office told Embassy that the 
President will have to sign about 40 decrees to permit the 
holding of an election.  CEI President Mambe doubted that 
many are really needed but confirmed to Ambassador that at a 
minimum President Gbagbo has to sign decrees to approve: the 
final electoral list, list of overseas registration sites, 
list of polling sites, the staff to man the polling sites, 
printing of the voter cards, and validation of the final 
voter cards.  Mambe said the normal procedure would be to 
prepare and present to the President for signature all the 
decrees at one time. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Comment.  The fact that the identification process 
has been completed without violence is a major step forward 
in Cote d'Ivoire's emergence from its crisis.  All peace 
agreements before the Ouagadougou Political Agreement (OPA) 
floundered when it came time to address the issue of 
identification of the population, ostensibly one of the major 
reasons for the 2002 rebellion.  However, challenges to the 
integrity of the identification process are possible.  There 
have been numerous charges of fraud in recent days (See 
Reftel B).  In addition, government and FPI-controlled 
newspapers both carried articles on July 1 bemoaning the 
large numbers of Ivoirians who had not been able to register 
before the process ended on June 30.  It is true that many 
persons only recently received birth documentation as a 
result of the reconstitution of the civil registries.  There 
are also indications, however, many Ivoirians just waited 
until the last moment and were then faced with long lines at 
registration centers.  Evidently many doubted that the June 
30 deadline would be real.  The presidential election may not 
take place on November 29 due to a lack of will (See Reftel 
A), but it is still technically possible to observe that 
date.  However, the CEI faces a tight timeline. Any delays or 
glitches will truly make it technically impossible to 
organize the election by November 29. 
 
 
 
NESBITT