VZCZCXRO4797
OO RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHKH #1048/01 2570943
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 140943Z SEP 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4410
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/CJTF HOA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001048 
 
NSC FOR MGAVIN, LETIM 
DEPT PLS PASS USAID FOR AFR/SUDAN 
ADDIS ABABA ALSO FOR USAU 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM SOCI SU
SUBJECT: NO FINAL VOTER REGISTRATION PLAN OR BUDGET, NO SPECIAL 
PROVISIONS FOR IDP VOTERS 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On September 6, U.S. Agency for International 
Development Director and Pol Chief attended a National Elections 
Commission (NEC) Policy Committee meeting.  NEC officials were 
unable to provide a budget covering activities through the post 
election period, operational plan or voter registration plan. 
Election advisors are concerned about provision of voter 
registration materials in time to begin registration on November 1 
as specified in the national election timeline. The NEC remains 
unwilling to develop special provisions for Internally Displaced 
Persons (IDP) voters. END SUMMARY 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Voter Registration Preparation Lacking 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Voter registration is scheduled to begin on November 1 as 
specified in the national election timeline.  According to the NEC, 
it discarded the registration plan developed by international 
election advisors and NEC experts and developed a new plan. 
According to election advisors, it will not be possible to complete 
registration on time under the new plan due to insufficient human 
and logistical resources. Election advisors said that they recently 
worked with the NEC to make the plan more feasible. NEC and election 
advisors agreed for budget and planning purposes to set a 
registration target of 16.5 million or 80 percent of eligible voters 
according to the census.  NEC officials acknowledged that an 
officially endorsed final voter registration plan is not yet 
available. 
 
--------------------------- 
NEC Budget Raises Questions 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The current draft NEC budget provided at the meeting totals 
approximately $200,000,000, but has not been officially endorsed or 
approved by the NEC.  NEC officials announced that the Government of 
National Unity (GNU) has committed funding through June 2010, though 
it did not specify the amount committed.  In addition, the NEC 
announced that GNU contributions to the budget are set at 42 percent 
and donor contributions at 58 percent. Election advisors said after 
the meeting that this breakdown does not match the most recent 
budget developed by the advisors and NEC experts. That budget evenly 
divides costs between the GNU and donors according to election 
advisors. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
IDPs Need Voter Education To Participate 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Donors raised concerns about the ability of internally 
displaced persons (IDPs) to register and to vote. The 2008 National 
Election Act does not lay out specific registration and polling 
procedures for IDPs; the same eligibility criteria apply to all 
Sudanese, including IDPs, according to the NEC. NEC officials and 
donor country representatives agreed that targeted and focused voter 
education in IDP camps is critical to ensure that IDPs know the 
procedures and are encouraged to participate in the process. Great 
Britain's e Department for International Development (DfID) Country 
Director Sandra Pepera emphasized the need for flexibility to allow 
extra time for IDP registration in the event that large numbers of 
IDPs are able to return to their homes after registration but prior 
to the national elections. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
NEC Queried on Executive-Only Elections 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Embassy of the Netherlands Ambassador Norbert Braakhuis 
asked about speculations concerning executive-only elections. 
According to Ambassador Braakhuis, both the SPLM and the NCP have 
raised the idea of executive-only elections in discussions with the 
UK. Neither NEC nor GNU representatives commented. 
 
¶6. (SBU) COMMENT: With voter registration scheduled to begin in less 
than two months, the NEC has yet to finalize its registration plan, 
and has not begun training registration staff or conducting voter 
education concerning registration.  IDP voter registration and 
polling will pose challenges for the millions of Sudanese who do not 
live close to their home areas. The ongoing delay in finalization of 
the operational plan and budget, combined with an ad hoc approach to 
electoral planning by the NEC, increases the likelihood that there 
will not be sufficient time to procure materials and prepare for 
voter registration, voter education, and polling. END COMMENT 
 
 
 
KHARTOUM 00001048  002 OF 002 
 
 
WHITEHEAD