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RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAB #0063 0421226
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 111226Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
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INFO RUEHAB/AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABIDJAN 000063 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/02/11 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM PREL ASEC IV
SUBJECT: FPI Insistent on Mambe's Resignation, CEI Reconfiguration 
 
REF: 10 ABIDJAN 59; 10 ABIDJAN 45; 08 ABIDJAN 595 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Mary Townswick, Section Chief Pol/Econ, DOS, Pol/Econ 
Embassy Abidjan; REASON: 1.4(B), (D) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  The FPI remains adamant that the current impasse 
over the electoral list cannot be resolved unless Independent 
Electoral Commission (CEI) President Robert Mambe resigns.  The FPI 
also wants a reconfiguration of the CEI.  In a February 9 meeting, 
Ambassador told FPI representatives that Mambe's fate is not the 
central concern; there is no evidence that the provisional list has 
been compromised and the process needs to move forward.  The 
Ambassador clearly stated the FPI was at risk of being blamed for 
any further electoral delays.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
¶2.  (C) Ambassador met February 9 with FPI President Affi N'Guessan 
at the latter's request to discuss the FPI's position on the 
current electoral crisis (reftels).  He was accompanied by three 
other key FPI members:  Laurent Akoun, who handles DDR issues; 
Kouassi Moise Lida, former defense minister and presidential 
advisor; and Marie-Odette Lorougnon, who is responsible for women's 
affairs.  DCM and Pol/Econ Chief were also in attendance. 
N'Guessan spent much of the 90-minute meeting vilifying CEI 
President Mambe, calling him a traitor who was defying the 
authority of the state by refusing to resign, and blaming him for 
the current stalemate.  N'Guessan called for a "neutral" party to 
replace Mambe and a rebalancing of the CEI to make it a less 
political body.  To this end, he demanded that the nine non-voting 
CEI commissioners be given voting rights (Note: Ref c details the 
composition of the CEI.  End Note) 
 
 
 
¶3.  (C) The Ambassador pulled no punches in telling N'Guessan that 
progress toward elections should continue as quickly as possible, 
and that the actions of one man should not be allowed to derail the 
process.  She noted that Ivoirians are losing patience, and that 
the hope she had seen throughout the country when the provisional 
voters' list was published in November 2009 would be dashed if the 
process was seen to be going backwards.  The international 
community was also anxious that elections be held as quickly as 
possible, and the FPI risked to be seen as the stumbling block. 
She acknowledged that Mambe had made mistakes, but noted that there 
were two sides to the story (Ambassador heard Mambe's on February 
5).  Mambe's fate is an internal issue to be decided by the 
Ivoirians.  The critical point was that it was clear that the 
integrity of the provisional list had never been comprised, so a 
way forward must be found. 
 
 
 
¶4.  (C)  N'Guessan reacted defensively to the Ambassador's 
analysis, stating that Ivoirians knew best how to move their 
country forward.  Lorougnon complained that Cote d'Ivoire was not 
being allowed to implement its own constitution by refusing 
foreigners the right to vote, and that the FPI was powerless 
against the armed groups who were pursuing their own political 
agendas.  N'Guessan continued to focus on Mambe's actions, 
dismissed the Prime Minister's observation committees out of hand, 
and rejected the Ambassador's suggestion that an individual not 
aligned with any party, perhaps even someone from outside Cote 
d'Ivoire, be considered to head the CEI should Mambe resign. 
 
 
 
¶5.  (C)  Comment:  This meeting reconfirmed the FPI's aggressive 
agenda to replace Mambe.  N'Guessan and his colleagues were clearly 
not in the listening mode, ignoring the fact that the list had not 
been compromised, and focusing only on replacing Mambe and 
reconfiguring the CEI before anything else could be accomplished. 
Barring a radical change in their perspective, it is hard to see 
how the process can move forward unless Mambe resigns; finding a 
successor that all parties can agree to will probably take weeks. 
Of even more concern is the FPI's demand that the structure of the 
CEI, which was the result of months of negotiations, be 
significantly changed by allowing the technical commissioners the 
right to vote. (Note: Most of these commissioners are likely 
pro-FPI, which would tilt the current, opposition-heavy makeup of 
the CEI in the FPI's favor.  End Note)  The FPI's desire to balance 
the CEI politically is understandable, but their proposal will not 
make the CEI more independent and could result in frequent 
deadlocks that the politicians will be called upon to resolve. 
N'Guessan's claims that the FPI is the helpless victim of the 
political machinations of the opposition and the Prime Minister 
would be laughable, if they were not a sign that any compromise is 
unlikely to come fro 
STANLEY