VZCZCXRO9166
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHAB #0059/01 0391815
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 081815Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0143
INFO ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0018

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000059 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE PASS TO AMEMBASSY MALABO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/08 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM IV
SUBJECT: Dispute Process Extended; Mambe Weakened by Dissent within 
CEI 
 
REF: 10 ABIDJAN 15 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Tanya Salseth, Political Officer, Department of State, 
Embassy Abidjan; REASON: 1.4(B), (D) 
 
¶1.       (U)   Summary:  After weeks of speculation, the Prime 
Minister's Office and the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) 
announced on February 2 that the period for filing challenges to 
the provisional electoral list will be reopened from February 4 
through 14.  The day after the announcement, 10 of the 31 central 
CEI commissioners signed a declaration stating they would "abstain" 
from fulfilling their duties during the reopened process and would 
refuse to cooperate with the prime minister's observation 
committees.  The ongoing fraud "scandal" has eroded Mambe's 
authority and various commissioners are acting independently, 
creating increasing confusion.  Meanwhile, a series of disturbing 
incidents, including protests in Divo, Katiola, and Man, and a 
break-in into a CEI office in Abidjan,  signal a general sense of 
uneasiness about the latest  glitches in the electoral process. 
End Summary 
 
 
 
DISPUTE PROCESS RE-OPENED, BUT COMMISSIONERS WON'T WORK 
 
¶2.       (C)  The dispute process, which officially came to an end 
on January 9, will be reopened from February 4 through 14, 
according to a February 2 CEI announcement.  Ten central CEI 
commissioners (most of whom are thought to be pro-FPI) reacted to 
this news by issuing a joint declaration on February 3, stating 
they would not assist with the dispute process, nor cooperate with 
the observation committees set up by the Prime Minister's office 
(ref A).  The commissioners cited "increasing administrative and 
procedural anomalies" on the part of CEI President Mambe as the 
reason for their decision, and stated that they would "abstain" 
from working until the fraud charges are resolved.  Alain Dogou, 
one of the CEI's four vice-presidents and President Gbagbo's 
representative at the CEI, told Emboffs on February 5 that Mambe 
has lost support among the commissioners, as many continue to 
question what role he played in the scandal.  Dogou said this loss 
of confidence has weakened the leadership of the CEI, citing the 
example of one central commissioner who, without Mambe's 
permission, asked all of the regional CEI commissioners reporting 
him to close their offices following the February 3 declaration. 
 
 
 
DISTURBING INCIDENTS  MULTIPLY 
 
¶3.       (SBU)  While the CEI is wracked by internal divisions, 
disturbances in the electoral landscape seem to be on the rise. 
Demonstrators in Divo, a southern city not far from Abidjan which 
saw considerable electoral violence during the 2000 elections, 
clashed with police on February 1.  The incident began after police 
arrested and detained three people whom members of the ruling FPI 
party claimed were foreigners who were fraudulently registered on 
the provisional electoral list.  Two police officers were injured 
in the clash; seven demonstrators suffered bullet wounds. 
 
 
 
¶4.       On February 2, the town hall responsible for 
administrative documents in the northern city of Katiola repeatedly 
refused authorized requests to examine the town's birth registry in 
an attempt to verify the nationality of some petitioners who were 
accused of being foreign.  As a result, youth from the opposition 
RHDP coalition protested, destroying property in the process.  That 
same day, newspapers reported that three opposition RDR members 
working at a CEI in the Attecoube neighborhood of Abidjan broke 
into the CEI office and took 19 boxes of petitioner cases under 
dispute.  The RDR members claimed the break-in was necessary 
because the  head of the office, an FPI partisan, had refused to 
transfer the documents to the observation committees in compliance 
with the prime minister's instructions. 
 
 
 
On February 5, the embassy received an unconfirmed report from an 
NGO that pro-ruling party demonstrators are protesting in the 
western city of Man and are blocking CEI operations from taking 
place. 
 
 
 
¶5.       (C)  Comment:  This latest declaration by the ten CEI 
commissioners is disturbing on several levels.  Although it is no 
secret that the president's camp was against the CEI's creation 
from its inception (the majority of the commissioners are 
 
ABIDJAN 00000059  002 OF 002 
 
 
affiliated with the opposition, including CEI President Mambe), 
this marks the first time the organization's integrity is being 
attacked from within.  With Mambe's authority and position in 
question, individual CEI commissioners, at both the national and 
regional levels,  are now deciding on an individual basis whether 
or not they will implement the prime minister's directive to 
transfer disputed cases to the observation committees for a 
decision.   The end result is that some CEI offices untouched by 
the scandal have continued working, while others have stopped work 
completely or have been prevented from working by protestors.  End 
Comment. 
NESBITT